Mission Hogwarts
by Rebarbative
Summary: When Voldemort's actions threaten the vampire clan, they send their young prince to join his enemy's forces. Can Darren eradicate the threat, before it's too late?
1. Education

**Hi there! It's Rebarbative with her new story. This story is AU: Basically, Debbie dies instead of Mr. Crepsley, so instead of going back to the Cirque, they all head over to good ol' Vampire Mountain, where Darren grieves for his lost love. Also, they have already gone to the post-LoTS world and found Harkat's true identity, but time did not pass during their adventure (Kinda like with Narnia). Spoilers if you haven't read HP or CDF. **

**P.S The story starts a few months after their arrival. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter One:

"Education"

"Darren, Mika needs to speak to you. A few generals just returned bearing grave news," said one of the stuffy guards from the Hall of Princes.

I sighed and put down the bowl of broth I had been sipping from and followed the guard out of the dining hall. He led me to the giant dome, where the hall of princes resided, and I placed my hands on the soft, slightly pulsating door. It slid open (God knows how..) and revealed a grim faced Mika. Well… more grim than usual anyways. He and I were the only princes in the mountain at the moment. Arrow and Vancha were out scouting for more news on vampaneze movement.

"Sit down Darren," instructed the older prince. "You remember that group of generals we sent scouting in London?"

"Yes.." I said slowly, sensing bad news.

"Two of them returned yesterday," said the sallow prince.

"Only two?" I replied. "We are losing dozens of generals each week. What is so special about three more missing?"

"Well Darren, these three weren't killed by vampaneze. They were taken into custody by wizards."

"Wizards? I thought they didn't want to mix with the clan?"

"Not normally, but these are far from normal times in the wizarding world," Mika began. "It seems they are on the brink of war again. Remember that lunatic who was terrorizing their world a few years before you became prince?" he asked. I simply nodded so he continued, "Well it seems that he has returned from the grave."

"What does that have to do with the abducted generals?"

"Well," said the prince with an impatient sigh, "The man, he calls himself Lord Voldemort, tried to negotiate an alliance with those generals, who of course refused. He was infuriated and lashed out at the generals. "

"These two here," he said with a gesture of his hand, "managed to flit to safety. We suspect the other three are still alive. I assume the cur is waiting for us to try and rescue them."

"Are we going to send in a rescue team?" I said, with a sense of foreboding.

"No, it would be a waste of men. We have no way to defend ourselves from their spells. We have some immunity, but not enough for a full scale battle."

"What are we going to do then? Leave those men to fate?"

"No," said Mika. "We are going to use their enemies to get them back. I'll be damned if some fool with a stick is going to intimidate us."

"And how exactly do we do that?"

"That's where you come in young prince," he said with a wicked grin.

…

"This plan is completely ludicrous," said a red faced Mr. Crepsley.

"Aw come on Mr. Crepsley," I said with a grin, "You're just mad that you have to live in a shack for a year!"

He smacked the back of my head and replied, "No, I have lived in far worse environments. I was simply pointing out that there is no way this plan will ever work."

"What plan.. made by a.. vampire… ever makes.. sense?" said Harkat with a cheeky grin.

"That is true," said the still upset Mr. Crepsley. "I suppose if it is for the good of the clan.."

"That's the spirit," I said. "A wizard school… I bet Debbie would have loved it."

Ah Debbie. She was never too far from my mind. At first, for a month or so, I grieved endlessly for her. But then Mr. Crepsley was tired of me moping around and decided to knock some sense into me. Sure she was gone, but he said he would bet his cape that she went to Paradise. That meant if I stopped 'moping around and actually did something useful' I might see her again someday.

Enough of that. The plan was for me to disguise myself as a wizard student. I would go to their school for a year, make connections with the wizards who were on the opposing side of Voldemort, and use their friendship to get into Voldemort's stronghold. Once I was there, I would focus on rescuing those three generals and getting out before Voldemort could recapture us. Mr. Crepsley would be living in an abandoned shack that was near the school. It was rumored to be haunted. But, we hung out with a ghost every day, so it wasn't that scary.

Mr. Crepsley _was_ mad, not because of his housing arrangements, but because for the next month and a half _I_ would be teaching him about the wizarding world. Of course I would be learning it myself, but Mr. Crepsley couldn't read! Mika sent some newly inducted generals to get us all the books on the wizard's world they could find. Some first assignment! We were to depart from Vampire Mountain in early August to head to London, where we would stay until the beginning of my term in September.

These next few months were going to be interesting.

***Dodges a Madam Octa rubber toy***

**Hey! I didn't think it was**_** that**_** bad. Sure it's a little short, but I feel like writing a bit more tonight. I just had to get an intro out to test the waters. I tried changing it up a bit. Most HP-CDF fics have the vamps trying to get the wiz folk as allies. This idea just popped into my head as I was swimming this afternoon, so I decided to give it a go. Leave any suggestions or comments in the review area! Expect an update **_**really **_**soon to make up for this lame excuse of a chapter!**

**Love and guts**

**-Rebarbative**


	2. Diagonally

**Here is that promised second chapter! It will definitely be longer than the first. And don't worry Cat Attack 411! I plan on making this one a lot different!**

**Oh and I disclaim!**

**p.s Darren **_**is**_** Mr. Tiny's son, so he does have magical abilities!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Two

"Diagonally"

A month and a half is short time by vampire standards, but a month and a half of straight_ reading _felt like a whole decade. I would be starting my fifth year at… Hogwarts. (I still couldn't say the name without laughing- I mean really! Hogwarts?) But I had none of the knowledge that the others in my year would have. They had spent at least four years in the wizarding world, and I had to have a crash course in months.

I would be able to get away with _some _stupidity, by claiming that I missed out on almost two years of schooling. It was simply really. I just had to use the same excuse I had when I went to Mahler's; I was nearly burned to death! I would have to add on that my dad does not believe in magical remedies, so I had to recover naturally. That way my scars and my lack of education would be explained!

I _had_ learned a lot though. I knew most of my defensive and offensive spells, the theory behind transfiguration, and the healers down in the medical hall taught me some basic potions! I didn't have a wand yet, but I memorized the motions and words that I had to know to cast the spells. I would be getting my wand soon, when we reached London in a couple of weeks. We were planning to depart for London once nightfall set in.

We had bags with a few changes of clothes, some money, and _lots _of bottles of blood. We didn't want to risk my exposure by a kid waking up seeing me drinking their blood. Also, if various classmates kept getting strange cuts on their bodies, _somebody _would get suspicious. We had decided to grab as many vials as we could carry, and during each trip to Hogsmeade (the town Mr. Crepsley was staying in) we would swap out half the bottles. During his time in the shack, Mr. Crepsley would fill the other half of the bottles. That way, I would only have to drink from a classmate during an emergency.

* * *

Nightfall couldn't come fast enough. I was tired of being cooped up in a mountain. Sure it was huge, but one can only take so much rock. While I was waiting for Mr. Crepsley to wake up, I double checked my bag.

Blood

_Check!_

Diary

_Check!_

Emergency Knives

_Check!_

Underwear that looks better than Gavner's

_Double Check!_

Well.. Checking my bag did not waste as much time as I had hoped, so I went to the Hall of Princes to see Harkat. Ever since he had returned and told the princes he was Kurda Smalht, he had been a regular visitor to the Hall. With the memory of his name, the memories of his life returned. He remembered much useful information and had even started mapmaking again!

"Hey Harkat!" I yelled to the stumpy Little Person.

"Darren!" he exclaimed, yanking down his mask. "I was hoping… I would get to… see you before… you left!"

"Well now that you have seen each other we can leave," said Mr. Crepsley, scaring the pants off me.

"How did you get in here?" I asked. Only a prince should have been able to get through the doors.

"I walked in right behind you. It seems that the training that Vanez has spent so much time on has improved your senses little."

"Stuffy old bat," I grumbled.

"I heard that!" he said, smacking the back of my head. "I, unlike you, have actually developed my senses, rather than prancing around learning how to use a magic stick properly."

"Whatever. Let's get this show on the road!" I said, my excitement not stanched in the slightest by Mr. Crepsley's insult.

"May the.. Luck of the.. Vampires be.. with you Darren.. Mr. Crepsley," Harkat said as parting words.

"You too, _sire_" I replied cheekily. I had taken to calling him sire since I had learned he was Kurda, who was supposed to be made a prince shortly before his execution.

Harkat grinned and hugged me. I really would miss him. We had become even closer friends during our three months in the future, and that friendship had only strengthened further while in the mountain. With a farewell wave to Mika, who merely frowned in return, we headed back to our chambers to get our bags. After that, we set out for an exit tunnel and left Vampire Mountain.

"AH!" I screamed once we left the mountain. "IT'S TOO BRIGHT!"

"Pipe down and quit acting like a child. The moon surely is not that bright," replied an agitated Mr. Crepsley.

"Compared to months living in a dark cave it is," I grumbled under my breath.

"Hmph. Just wait until daylight comes around."

We walked and bickered most of the way down the mountain, even though I knew Mr. Crepsley was as happy to be out of the mountain as I was. He just had.. a different way of showing it. Once we reached the base of the mountain, we were free to flit. With the War of Scars going on, certain allowances were made. One of those was flitting to and from Vampire Mountain. Many vampires disliked this, but admitted it was a necessary evil.

We flitted for a few hours, until Mr. Crepsley ran out of steam. We would rest and most likely stay the night there. We caught a few, well, _I _caught a few hares for our dinner. Mr. Crepsley lounged in front of the fire while I cooked the rabbits on a spit. When they were done, I pulled them off the spit and grabbed the larger hare. Before I could take a bite, it was ripped out of my hand. I sighed and reached for the smaller rabbit.

We finished our meal in silence. We still had a few more hours till sunrise, but Mr. Crepsley didn't want to waste all his energy in one day, so we decided to turn in early. We spent around two hours reading, (or in Mr. Crepsley's case, listening!) then laid down a thick blanket to sleep on. The bottom was waterproofed so that the snow that melted, because of our body heat, wouldn't seep into our clothes. Then we laid a slightly less thick blanket over ourselves, said goodnight, and fell asleep in the cool, wintery forest.

* * *

I woke due to a snuffling noise in my ear. I jumped up and braced myself for an attack. Mr. Crepsley shot up, alerted by my movement, and then laughed when he saw what had scared me. It was a wolf, and a scraggly one at that. He had a few tufts of fur missing and a scar cutting through one of his eyes, blinding him. He whined when he saw my offensive stance and rolled onto his back into a submissive pose. I calmed and reached down to scratch the wolf's belly.

"You don't look too good buddy," I said, still scratching his belly.

In fact, with his orangey-red fur, scared face, and scruffy appearance he looked just like Mr. Crepsley! I laughed when I noticed this.

"What is so funny?" asked a grumpy Mr. Crepsley.

"Nothing, I just noticed that you and this wolf are kindred spirits."

"Nonsense. I am not some mangy lone wolf."

"Suuuure you aren't," I said with a smirk.

I ducked as he took a swipe at my head. He then grumbled something about a 'no good brats' and went back to sleep. I was fully awake by then so I decided to catch some breakfast. Larten-the-wolf followed me as I went to hunt. I eventually found a sickly looking doe and made a quick end of her. If Larten was excited about the prospect of food, he didn't show it.

I returned to camp just as Mr. Crepsley was waking up. He glanced at the deer, and just like Larten, he showed no excitement. He simply came forward and started skinning the doe. I went to make the fire. After I had a decent blaze going I reached into Mr. Crepsley's bag and pulled out one of his collapsible pots. I filled it with some clean snow and set it over the fire to boil.

An hour or so later we were all three enjoying some venison stew. I dug in happily while the two orange haired scoundrels ate with no pleasure in their faces at all. After we ate, we packed up our camp and said goodbye to Larten. Mr. Crepsley was not happy when he heard my name for the mangy wolf. I climbed onto his back gingerly and he began to flit.

* * *

The next week and a half passed in a blur. We spent the days camping and the nights traveling. We had finally reached the end of the wooded part of our journey. From here on out we could travel by bus or train, using the money we were supplied with before we left. Vampire Mountain has many riches, but vampires don't usually care about money, so it piled up after the years. I preferred traveling by train over a piggyback ride any day. It was kind of awkward to cling to a man's back all day, regardless of how close your friendship is.

Six days later we reached London. My book, _Modern Day Wizards_, spoke of a pub that we could reach a shopping venue from. It was called The Leaky Cauldron. I kept my eye out for the pub as we scoured London. I almost missed the dingy looking place, but at a second glance I realized that it was the place we were looking for.

We walked into the pub. The inside was dusty, but cheery. We walked up to the barman. We had no wands, so we could not open the passage way to Diagon Alley.

"Hello sir," said Mr. Crepsley, trying to be polite. "We just moved here, so we do not know our way around yet, but we heard that this pub would lead us to Diagon Alley. Could you show us how to get there?"

"Sure!" said the kind looking barman. "My name is Tom, and if ya need anythin' just ask."

"Do you have any rooms for rent?" inquired Mr. Crepsley.

"Sure do!" how long are you boys stayin'?"

"Just until the school year begins."

"Ah, you goin' to Hogwarts boy?" he said, speaking to me this time.

"Yes sir," was all I said in reply

"Ain't gonna find a finer school anywhere," he said leading us to a door in the back.

"Watch closely. This pattern is hard ta remember."

He pulled out his wand and tapped the bricks on the wall in front of us. I watched intently and I was sure Mr. Crepsley was doing the same. Suddenly a hole appeared in the brick and grew into an archway. I tried not to look amazed at the first bit of magic I had actually _seen._

I reached into my bag and pulled out the letter Mika had given me. All of my school supplies were listed on it.

"Wait. Before we do any shopping, we must convert some of our money into wizarding money," Mr. Crepsley reminded me.

"Right. Now where is that bank we read about?"

"Well I do not know. I cannot read the signs."

"Oh yeah. What was it called again? Gringotts?"

"I believe so."

As we walked down the alley I scanned the shops for the wizarding bank's strange name. At the end of the street we reached a large marble building. I looked up. Sure enough it was Gringotts.

"Whoa," was all I could say.

**Well that's all for tonight! Tomorrow I am leaving for a trip. I will take my laptop with me and hopefully write a chapter or two. If I can get wifi I will post them for you!**

**Blood and Guts**

**-Rebarbative **


	3. Goblins

**This chapter will have Darren's school shopping and his remaining time in Diagon Alley. Next chapter will have the Hoggy Express and hopefully, the Sorting! **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Three

"Goblins"

"Stop gawking and get inside before this infernal sun burns me alive," said Mr. Crepsley, completely ruining the moment.

As I climbed up the marble steps that led into the bank, I looked to my left and almost did a double take. There was a short human like creature standing there, guarding the bank!

"Mr. Crepsley.." I whispered.

"I believe that was a goblin. You mentioned them when you were reading from your history book. They have warred with wizards many times."

"Oh," was all I could say.

We walked inside a set of bronze doors (with a bow from the goblin), and came to a second set of doors. These doors were silver, and engraved upon them was:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors, _

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there_

"What does that plaque say?" asked a curious Mr. Crepsley.

"I think it's a warning, to keep out thieves."

"That is an interesting way to warn thieves- with a fancy door".

"Well we _are _dealing with wizards," I reminded him.

We opened the strange door and walked into Gringotts. Inside there were a least a hundred of the strange goblin creatures, working at various stations. We looked to the large counter that dominated the back wall. There was a short line of people there, so we guessed that the counter was where we needed to go. We waited behind a woman and her son, who kept stealing glances at Mr. Crepsley's scarred face and bright hair.

"Hello, and welcome to Gringotts. How may I help you?" asked the goblin in a surprisingly deep voice.

"We need to exchange our muggle money for wizarding money," explained Mr. Crepsley.

"Alright, how much would you like to exchange?" asked the goblin.

"Five thousand pounds," he replied.

"My, that is a large sum. Do you wish to open an account here at Gringotts?"

"No thank you, sir."

"As you wish," he said, taking the money from Mr. Crepsley, and then disappearing behind the counter.

He returned a few minutes later with a large brown sack. As he was handing the bag to Mr. Crepsley, he froze and sniffed the air. Suddenly, he cleared his face and acted like nothing had changed.

"That'll be one thousand galleons total, with five taken off for payment. Will that be all for today?"

"Yes. Thank you for your service," said Mr. Crepsley looking troubled.

The goblin gave a short bow, not taking his eyes off of us. We left the shop as fast as we could (without drawing attention to ourselves). When we got outside I looked at Mr. Crepsley.

"Mr. Crepsley.." I began.

"I know Darren. I am hoping that their enmity with the wizards will keep him from revealing our true selves. Let us hurry to the next shop. I do not care for a sun burn."

The first shop we entered was called _Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. _I knew Mr. Crepsley regretted his choice as soon as we walked in. It smelled _awful_- worse than the wolf man and R.V. put together. But, I needed to get my supplies for potions class, so we would have to bear it. We hurriedly gathered my school supplies (they had a section roped off for Hogwarts students!) and left the shop as quick as we could.

Our next stop was called _Twilfitt and Tatting's. _When we walked inside we saw some very fancy looking robes, (Mr. Crepsley was in love!) and a snooty looking man and woman.

"Welcome to Twilfitt and Tatting's. We are the _best _robe makers in London. How may we.. uh.. help you?" the man said, with a degrading look at our tattered clothes.

"My son is in need of Hogwarts robes, and I need a few sets of red formal robes," said a blushing Mr. Crepsley.

"Alright then. Follow me."

He led us to a backroom where there was a stand in the middle of the room. I had no clue what it was for.

"Young man, please step up so I can take your measurements," said a woman in a nasally voice.

I did as she said and she threw a robe over my head and began to take measurements.

"Hmm. Quite large for a boy your age, aren't you?" she said.

"My dad makes me help him feed our livestock. We breed magical creatures," was the first excuse I could think of.

Mr. Crepsley glared at me from where the man was measuring him. The woman looked at me strangely, but decided not to comment. A few minutes later, I was the proud owner of seven new wizard's robes. Mr. Crepsley had bought only three robes, but his were more expensive.

"Now I've got my robes and potions ingredients. We still need my books, wand, cauldron and telescope, and the sheet says I'm allowed to get a pet."

"Do you think that is wise?" said Mr. Crepsley asked. "Remember what happened last time you had a pet..."

"Well I'm not planning on buying a poisonous spider.." I began.

"Fine. Just do not come crying when you put another child into a coma."

I rolled my eyes and walked into the next shop. I got a pewter cauldron, some crystal vials, and a brass telescope. Next on my list were my books. The letter said that Flourish and Blotts would have all of my school books. We walked along the alley's cobblestone street until I spotted the large sign signifying the wizard bookstore. When we walked inside I looked around with a speculative eye. I had all the books from the first years being sent to me from the mountain, but I needed my fifth year books. They were called, _Defensive Magical Theory_ by Wilbert Slinkhard and _The Standard Book of Spells_ _(Grade 5) _by Miranda Goshawk. A friendly looking worker helped us find and purchase my books. He even suggested a few that he thought I might like outside of school!

We planned to get my wand before we went to the pet store- Mr. Crepsley was still hoping I would change my mind about getting a pet. The first store we saw that sold wands was called Ollivanders. According to the sign, it had been open since 382 B.C! We walked into the dusty store, and a man with silvery hair came up to us.

"Welcome to Ollivander's Wand Shop. I am Mr. Ollivander. How may I help you?" said the man, in a quiet and wispy voice.

"My son and I require wands. We lost our wands through a muggle travelling agency."

"Ah. That's unfortunate," said the strange man. "Which arm is your wand arm?" he asked, speaking to me.

"My right arm," I said.

I had written with my right arm when I was in school, so I _guessed _that it was my wand arm too. He waved his wand and a bunch of measuring tapes flew around me. I don't know how he recorded the measurements, but he must have, because after a few minutes he waved his wand again and all the measuring tapes disappeared.

"Now, if you will follow me," he said, leading me to the back of the shop. "Here try this one," he said, handing me a wand, "Maple and phoenix feather, 9 inches. Quite springy."

I had no idea what he meant by that, but I got the idea that I was supposed to test out the wand. I gave it a short wave. A wand box flew off its shelf and smacked Mr. Crepsley in the back of the head. I handed the wand back quickly and looked sheepishly at the now glaring Mr. Crepsley.

"I don't think that one was it."

"No indeed," said the man with a small smile. "Here try this. Dragon heartstring and elm. 11 inches. Inflexible."

I took the wand and gave it a wave. A short burst of flame came out and nearly singed Mr. Ollivander's eyebrows.

"No, no. That won't do at all," he said while taking the wand back quickly. "Try this one. Elder branch and dragon heartstring. Ten inches. Nicely supple."

I took the wand gingerly and gave it a wave. Little green spiders flew from the end and disappeared right before they hit the ground. Mr. Crepsley snorted and Mr. Ollivander clapped merrily.

"Splendid. It seems that even with an elder wand, you will prosper!" he said while still clapping.

I just nodded and smiled like I had a clue what he was saying. It was Mr. Crepsley's turn to find a wand, and I didn't want to be in the room while he tested it out. I handed the wand to Mr. Ollivander and told them I would be outside. Mr. Crepsley glared. I bet he was hoping to get payback for that smack in the head. I waited outside for about twenty minutes before Mr. Crepsley walked outside. He had a singed cape and a small cut above his eye, but he was carrying two wand boxes.

"What kind did you get?" I asked curiously.

"Unicorn hair and Holly. Seven inches. Unyielding."

"Unicorn hair?"

"Apparently so."

I laughed and led the way to the pet store. It was called, _Magical Menagerie_. Mr. Crepsley didn't want to come inside, so he waited under the awning outside. I walked inside to a symphony of hoots, screeches, and hissing. Cats and owls weren't big fans of vampires, so I steered clear of those. I walked up to a case full of rats that started showing off tricks once we got close. Rats loved vampires, so I went to take a closer look. Suddenly a loud screech caught me off-guard and I jumped. I looked to the critter that had made the noise and smirked. Sitting in a medium sized cage was a baby fruit bat. The little guy was just begging for some attention, so I altered my course and went to see him.

When I got up to the cage, he started nibbling my finger. I knew that I_ had _to get this little guy! Not only was it sweet, it was also hilarious. A vampire with a pet bat! Sure, it was a little cliché, but it was still pretty funny! I told the attendant that I wanted to purchase the bat and she looked a little sad.

"Aww. Im gunna miss him. He is soo adorable," she explained as she was ringing up his cage and treats. "Feeding him should be pretty easy. I put some pellets and treats in your bag and you can feed him almost any type of fruit. Oh and just a warning, he is too scared to fly, which sometimes happens with domesticated bats."

"Thank you," I said stepping outside to where Mr. Crepsley was waiting.

"Any poisonous spiders?" he asked.

"None," I replied and showed him the cage.

"That is only slightly suspicious. You are supposed to be keeping a low profile," he reprimanded me.

"Aw come on. No one's going to think I'm a vampire because I have a pet bat. Vampires turn into bats. They don't keep them as pets."

"Hmph," was all he said in reply.

With our shopping done we headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. Mr. Crepsley had mild sunburn, which he scolded me for once we got into our room. It wasn't _my _fault he burned in the sun, but he still had to blame me anyways. We put my school supplies into my bag and went down to the pub to eat lunch. I thought the food was great- but maybe that's because I had been eating wild game for a few months.

We spent the next few weeks practicing spells with wands. Mr. Crepsley was great at transfiguration and offensive spells, but I was better at charms and defense. Time passed in a blur and before I knew it, it was time to go to Hogwarts!

**Well, there's chapter three! I know that the Hogwarts letter says you can only have a cat, toad, or owl, but Ron had a rat, so I guess they are pretty lenient about pet types. Mr. Crepsley got a unicorn wand because he is pure of heart, and I gave Darren a dragon related wand because of his attachment to dragons in the future. Leave your comments on what house you think Darren will be in- cookies to those who guess right! The reason Darren can do magic outside of school is because (technically) he isn't a wizard! He just has magic in his blood. He channels it through the wand and makes it do what he wants. Technically he doesn't have to**_** say**_** the spells, but he doesn't know that!**

**Blood and Guts**

**-Rebarbative**


	4. Great Finders!

**Hello! Here is Chapter Four! Originally, Darren's bat's name was Gavner, but it got changed to Austin. So if you see the name Gavner, it's where I missed a change**

**Disclaimer: Me.. no.. own.. Harry Potter.. or.. Cirque du Freak. (good Harkat impression? …No? ~.~)**

**Enjoy!**

"Great Finders!"

"Darren. Get up," said Mr. Crepsley.

I jumped out of bed and was awake almost immediately. Today was the day I went to Hogwarts. The train supposedly left from Kings Cross Station, and Mr. Crepsley was going to flit besides the train, which stopped in Hogsmeade. In Hogsmeade, Mr. Crepsley would stay in the Shrieking Shack (which was roped off from the public) until I had my first Hogsmeade trip, during the first weekend of October. He would meet me in secret at the beginning of the trip and exchange the old bottles of blood with the new ones. It wouldn't be as healthy as fresh blood, but I could manage a term or two on it.

I double checked my bag to make sure I had everything in it, and stuck my wand in my pocket. I grabbed Austin, my fruit bat, and handed his cage to Mr. Crepsley. We were going to take a taxi to the train station, where I had to get onto platform 9 ¾. I didn't know if that station did its platforms in fourths, or if the ticket was wrong, but I supposed I would find out when I got there.

We managed to flag down a taxi (albeit a shabby one) and told the cabby our destination. Mr. Crepsley would have preferred to flit, but a man appearing out of nowhere with a kid on his back might raise suspicions, and we were trying to keep a low profile. We reached the station within twenty minutes and hurried inside. It was a quarter till eleven, but I didn't want to be late- incase my ticket was wrong. We got inside and looked at the platform numbers. Unfortunately, they weren't by fourths. I didn't see the point in talking to an attendant, he would probably think I was nuts, but I did walk up to platform 9. As we approached the platform, I saw the weirdest thing. There was a piece of black fabric that stuck out of the wall for a fraction of a second, and then it disappeared. I looked over to Mr. Crepsley who was staring intently at the wall. He must have seen it too. We cautiously approached the wall and tried to lay our hands on it. But instead of resting on the wall, our hands went right through it!

"This must be how we get to the platform," I stated.

"How observant of you" remarked Mr. Crepsley in a degrading tone.

We looked around to make sure no one was watching and casually walked through the wall, hoping we wouldn't fall into an endless abyss. When we made it to the other side we saw a bright red train. The side of it said "Hogwarts's Express," so I knew we came to the right place.

"Well, I guess this is it," I said.

"I suppose so. I shall see you in October."

"No hug?" I said with a grin.

"You are absurd," he said, but he gave me a short, stiff hug. My eyes widened in surprise- Mr. Crepsley almost never showed any signs of affection towards me.

"Quit gathering dust and get on your train," said Mr. Crepsley with a smirk.

"Get out of here you old bat," I said with a smile.

With those fond words of farewell I boarded the scarlet train. From the corner of my eye I saw Mr. Crepsley sneak around the back of the train to find a place to flit. I walked down the train until I found an empty compartment and I put my bags down and sat down on a seat. After a few minutes I got bored, so I decided to play with Austin. I picked up his cage from the floor and let him crawl onto my arm. I had tried to control him like I controlled Madame Octa, and to my surprise I could! I spent the next few minutes trying to convince him to fly until the door to my compartment opened. A few kids walked in, laughing, and immediately paused when they saw me.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" said a boy with cropped black hair.

"My name is Darren Shan. I am a new student here."

"New student? What year are you in? You don't look like a first year," said one of the twins who had followed in behind him.

"I'm in fifth year. I was homeschooled, but I finally convinced my dad to let me go to an actual school."

"Well if you need to know any secret passages, we're your men!" said the other twin. "My name is Fred, my slightly less handsome twin is George, and this fine fellow is Lee Jordan."

"Nice to meet you."

"I know. Do you want to buy a skiving snack box?"

"What's that?" I asked curiously.

"Well my good man, they are only the most efficient way to get out of class!" said George.

They sat down in the compartment with me and pulled out a box of sweets.

"Each of these sweets is a different way to get out of class," explained Fred. "This one here causes a nosebleed," he said while pointing to red nugget-like candy. "And this one causes you to vomit like mad," he said, this time with a purple chewy-looking candy.

"But we still haven't figured out how to make you stop throwing up," warned George.

"I think I'll stay away from those then," I said with a smile.

"You can buy a complete set for three Galleons if you'd like," offered Lee Jordan.

"Sure," I said, not wanting to offend my new friends.

I exchanged three gold coins for a large box of the candies. I stuck the box into my bag.

"Say, what's that on your arm?" asked Lee, pointing to Austin.

"Oh that's my new pet," I said, showing them the small bat.

"Wicked!" said the twins together.

We spent the next few minutes letting Austin crawl across our arms. Then we heard a shout.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" came a woman's voice, knocking on our compartment door.

"Candy!" shouted all three of the boys in my compartment.

They rushed out to the hallway, where a woman was pushing a cart loaded with sweets. She rolled her eyes when she saw the boys- she must have been used to their behavior. After they bought an armful of candy, the woman turned to me.

"Would you like anything dearie?"

"Sure."

I walked up to the cart and scanned it for anything familiar. I saw all sorts of candy, but none I had ever heard of.

"What are Blood Pops?" I asked, pointing to a stack of red lollipops.

"They're lollies. Made with real blood! Most kids just get them for dares. Would you like some?"

"Yes please. And I would like some of those jellybeans, cakes, and I want to try a chocolate frog," I said.

"Anything else?"

"No thank you."

I traded one galleon for the candy and sat back down in the compartment.

"Blood Pops!" exclaimed Fred. "You have to be nutters to eat those!"

"I don't want them for me," I explained. "I want to use them in a prank."

"A man close to my own heart!" said George, clutching his chest dramatically.

The rest of the train ride was pretty uneventful. I ate a curtain flavored jelly bean and got a Merlin chocolate frog card, but that was pretty much it. It was getting dark outside and there was still no sign of the school.

"Hmm I think we should change into our robes now," commented Lee.

"Yeah, we must be close by now," agreed George.

As we changed into our robes George asked, "So, Darren, what house do you think you're in?"

"House?" I said confused.

"Yeah, you know, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," he explained.

"Oh. I'm not sure. What house are you in?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"We're in Gryffindor. House of the brave and chivalrous!" said Lee, puffing his chest out.

"Quite down. The only thing chivalrous about you is your underpants," scoffed George, smacking his friends head.

Meanwhile, I was having a mental breakdown. I had no idea what a house was, or which I was supposed to be in. The twins and Lee were now throwing insults at each other, distracting them from my panic. I calmed myself before they turned back to me.

"You seem like a Gryffindor kind of guy, but as long as you're not in Slytherin, we'll talk to you in public," said George with a wink.

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" I asked.

Immediately, they all started ranting about how awful Slytherin is. Apparently that house was filled with stuck up prats and dark wizards. They continued trashing the house until the train came to a stop.

"Finally!" exclaimed the twins.

We got off the train and stood near a lake. Next to the lake stood a woman, she was talking to a few students at the moment, but I needed to ask her where I should go. I walked over to her once the students finished talking to her.

"Ma'am, I'm a new studen.." I began.

"Ah yes, the new fifth year," she said, cutting me off. "Stand in line behind me. You will ride in with the first years."

I did as she said and glanced around. There were smaller students standing around me. They all seemed around ten or eleven, so I guessed they were first years. After all the students were off the train, we boarded onto the tiny boats by the lakes edge. Most boats had three students, but I had no one with me. I supposed my scars and age scared away all the first years. The boats all took off, seemingly of their own accord, and headed down the dark lake.

A few minutes later I saw a light in the distance. I looked up and saw an enormous castle reflecting over a lake. So _this _is what Hogwarts looked like. I knew it would be big, but I had no idea how large it truly was. About half an hour later, we pulled up on shore. We climbed out of our boats and went ashore. The teacher who directed us to the boats led us into what looked like an entrance hall.

The hall was enormous, like the rest of the castle. Standing near the front of the line of first years, was a lady dressed in green. I laughed at the stereotypical witch hat and her stern expression. I wondered who would win a scowl contest between her and Mr. Crepsley. I bet it would be a close one!

"First years, please line up over here," said the stern woman, leading us to a room filled with students. "We will sort you alphabetically."

"Ah, you must be Mr. Shan," she said directly to me. "You will be sorted last since you are not a first year."

Of course I would be. As if I wouldn't attract enough attention already. I sighed and went to the back of the line.

"The sorting will now begin!" said the woman.

She placed a grubby hat on a stool, and to my (and the first years) surprise, it began to sing!

_In times of old when I was new_

_And Hogwarts barely started_

_The founders of our noble school_

_Thought never to be parted:_

_United by a common goal_

_They had the selfsame yearning,_

_To make the world's best magic school_

_And to pass along their learning._

"_Together we will build and teach!"_

_The four good friends decided_

_And never did they dream that they _

_Might someday be divided,_

_For were there such friends anywhere_

_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?_

_Unless it was the second pair_

_Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?_

_So how could it have gone so wrong?_

_How could such friendships fail?_

_Why, I was there and so can tell_

_The whole sad, sorry tale._

_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those_

_Whose ancestry is purest."_

_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach just those whose_

_Intelligence is surest."_

_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those_

_With brave deeds to their name."_

_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,_

_And treat them just the same."_

_These differences caused little strife_

_When first they came to light,_

_For each of the four founders had _

_A House in which they might_

_Take only those they wanted, so,_

_For instance, Slytherin_

_Took only pure-blood wizards_

_Of great cunning, just like him,_

_And only those of sharpest mind_

_Were taught by Ravenclaw_

_While the bravest and the boldest_

_Went to daring Gryffindor._

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest, _

_And taught them all she knew,_

_Thus the Houses and their founders_

_Retained friendships firm and true._

_So Hogwarts worked in harmony_

_For several happy years,_

_But then discord crept among us_

_Feeding on our faults and fears,_

_The Houses that, like pillars four,_

_Had once held up our school,_

_Now turned upon each other and,_

_Divided, sought to rule._

_And for a while it seemed the school_

_Must meet an early end,_

_What with dueling and with fighting_

_And the clash of friend on friend_

_And at last there came a morning_

_When old Slytherin departed_

_And though the fighting then died out_

_He left us quite downhearted._

_And never since the founders dour_

_Were whittled down to three_

_Have the Houses been untied _

_As they once were meant to be_

_And now the Sorting Hat is here_

_And you all know the score:_

_I sort you into Houses_

_Because that is what I'm for,_

_But this year I'll go further._

_Listten closely to my song:_

_Though condemned I am to split you_

_Still I worry that it's wrong,_

_Though I must fulfill my duty_

_And I must quarter every year_

_Still I wonder whether sorting_

_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, I know the perils, read the signs,_

_The warning history shows,_

_For our Hogwarts is in danger_

_From external, deadly foes_

_And we must unite inside her_

_Or we'll crumble from within._

_I have told you, I have warned you… _

_Let the Sorting now begin. _

(End of stupidly long song :/ )

Applause broke out around the room, but so did lots of murmuring. I guess the hat didn't normally sing warnings or something

"Abercrombie, Euan," the lady in green called out.

A short boy scrambled up the stool and jammed the hat on his head. After a moment or two, the hat yelled "GRYFFINDOR!"

As the hat continued sorting kids into their respectful houses, I thought about its song. If even hats knew about Voldemort's growing army, why didn't the news publish anything about it?

"Zeller, Rose," the girl in front of me, was finally called. "HUFFLEPUFF" was yelled after a minute. It was my turn to be sorted.

"Shan, Darren," said the strict looking professor.

Lots of murmuring broke out as I walked to the stool. The last thing I saw before the hat fell over my eyes were hundreds of eyes staring at me.

"_Well, this is new" _a voice said inside my head. I nearly jumped in surprise.

"_I could say the same thing_**" **I responded.

"_True enough,"_ the hat agreed. _"I don't think I've ever sorted a vampire, much less a Prince!"_

"_I don't think I've ever been sorted by a hat.. I guess there's a first time for everything."_

"_Hah. Quite the sense of humor you have there. Now let's see.."_

"_You're smart, but in a roundabout way, not book smart like most Ravenclaws. You're not pureblood, or half-blood for that matter, but I must admit there is a slight bit of Slytherin in you. As for bravery, it is there. You would do well in Gryffindor, but there is one quality about you that stands out."_

"_What is that?" _I asked.

"_Your loyalty. You gave up your human life for a friend and nearly gave up your vampire life for another. Your loyalty to your clan shows in your mission here. You are risking your life for three men, who most would dismiss as dead. So I think you've got the right stuff, to belong in_

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

**Well, Darren is a Hufflepuff! In HP crossovers, the main character almost**_** always**_** gets put in either Gryffindor or Slytherin, but contrary to popular belief, there **_**are**_** other houses. Originally, I thought about putting him in Ravenclaw, but I think Darren would do well in Hufflepuff. They are pretty brave, as seen in the Battle at Hogwarts, (next to Gryf, Huff had the most people fighting) and Darren is a pretty dang good friend. "Oh you're dying? Let me become a vampire, fake my death, and lose my family for you!" (granted, it **_**was**_** his fault, but still!)**

**P.S props to who knows what the chapter name means! **

**Blood and Guts,**

**-Rebarbative **


	5. Barrels and Dandelions

**So, as I was reading through my last few chapters, (proofreading) I noticed that I made Darren seem a bit childish. To clear it up, yes, Darren **_**is **_**in his late twenties, but most people around that age are a **_**bit **_**childish still. And, the CDF series is about Darren growing up, which means he hasn't done it yet! Plus, he needs a chance to be a kid. I don't know if it bothered any of you, but let me know if it did. I can alter that slightly to help. Also, does anyone know what wizard kids are supposed to do before they go to Hogwarts? I was pondering that earlier, and if any of you have the answer, I would like know.**

**Disclaimer. I disclaim everything that should be disclaimed!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Five

"Barrels and Dandelions"

A chorus of cheers broke out as I took off the hat, the loudest screams coming from Fred, George, Lee and the table next to theirs. I went to the table where the screams were coming from –guessing it was my house- and sat next to a boy about my human age.

"Hello, My name is Ernie Macmillan, Hufflepuff Prefect," said the boy, reaching out a hand for me to shake.

"Darren," I said, shaking his hand.

"So, are you a transfer or are you starting late?" he inquired.

"Well, my dad has homeschooled me until this year, but I finally convinced him to let me come to Hogwarts," I said, using the same excuse I had with the twins.

"Splendid. What year are you in?"

"Fifth."

"As am I," he said.

Suddenly an older looking wizard, with a long white beard, stood up.

"To our newcomers," said the wizard with smile, "welcome! To our old hands- welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but it this is not it. Tuck in!"

There were laughs and a girl next to me said, "Trust good ol' Dumbledore to keep it short!"

Suddenly, a massive feast appeared out of nowhere –literally! I jumped back in surprise, as did many first years. Ernie laughed and tucked in to a roast chicken near his plate. I grabbed a steak and some mashed potatoes. It was delicious! I decided, as I was pouring gravy on my potatoes, that I could get used to this!

After the feast, the old man, (who I am guessing is Albus Dumbledore- the guy who sent my letter) stood up and gave a typical beginning of the year message: greetings, instructions, and changes. But halfway through his speech, a short fat woman interrupted him.

"_Hem, hem_," she 'coughed' and stood up.

Dumbledore looked at her strangely before he realized she wanted to make a speech. And some speech she made! I'm sure most of the kids around me thought her speech was boring, but I was more mature and had more experience in politics. It sounded like this woman wanted to make many changes to Hogwarts- mainly unneeded ones. I'd have to watch out for this Dolores Umbridge.

"What a load of rubbish," said Justin Finch- Fletchley, a boy who I met during the feast.

"Yeah. She's got to be the second biggest toad I've ever seen!" I joked, thinking back to the enormous amphibian I saw in the future.

"Where on earth have you seen a toad bigger than she is?" asked Ernie curiously.

"Long story," was all I would say on the subject.

"Well, now I've got to tend to my Prefect duties," said Ernie, who was puffing out his chest importantly. "You can come with me. I've got to show first years how to get into the common room and dormitories."

"Alright," I said, jumping up.

"First years! Gather round! "First years!" he yelled, with the help of a girl -who must have also been a prefect.

When all the first years were accounted for, we headed out of the Great Hall. We took a few turns and a down-staircase before we came to a pile of barrels.

"Here we are!" puffed Ernie.

I looked at him like he had gone crazy and he laughed.

"To get into our common room, simply tap _this _barrel like this," he explained while tapping a catchy rhythm on the barrel. "If you don't tap the right rhythm, or if you tap the wrong barrel, you're in for a nasty surprise. Every year, at least one first year finds out what that surprise is, so I hope you were paying attention!"

As he was speaking, the barrel popped open and revealed a short tunnel. I guessed that the common room lay on the other side.

"Now, if you'll follow me…" he said crawling through the tunnel, followed shortly by the girl.

I was the first to go in behind them, and soon the nervous looking first years followed after me. I couldn't help my gasp as I looked around the common room. It was large and circular, filled with comfortable looking couches and a warm fireplace. Large round windows looked out to a darkened field, filled with stars, dandelions, and long grass. In various places around the room stood _dancing_ plants.

"Welcome to the Hufflepuff common room!" he announced.

"Each of these doors," the girl stated, indicating to several round doors in the wall, "lead to a different dormitory. They are arranged with girl dorms on the right! -and boy dorms on the left! The first door is for first years, the second for second years, and so on. I am sure you are as tired as we are, so retire to your dorms when you feel up to it!"

With that, the first years dispersed to either their dorms or to examine the common room further. I wanted to check out my bed, so I went to the fifth circular door on the left. I stepped into a large circular room, filled with five four-poster beds. The beds had yellow hangings and black, silk, comforters. I saw one with Austin's cage on a side table, so I presumed it was mine. I sat down on the bed and checked my bag to make sure nothing got left on the train.

All my stuff was there, so I pulled the cover off of Austin's cage and opened the latch. The little bat crawled out over my arm and rested on my shoulder. I let out a whistle and tried telepathy on the bat again.

_Hello there little guy… _I transmitted mentally, trying to get my air-shy bat to fly again. _You have marvelous wings, but I bet they'd seem even __**more**__ spectacular if you were flying, _I coaxed_._ In reply, he just scampered farther up my arm and refused to move. I sighed.

"Is that a bat?" said a boy who was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Yeah, do you want to hold him?" I asked.

"Won't he try to suck my blood?" he asked timidly.

"No," I laughed, sensing irony. "He is a fruit bat, not a vampire bat."

"Oh okay," he said walking over. " My name is Collin Stebbins, but you can call me Stebbins. You're Darren aren't you?"

"Yeah," I said, holding out my hand. "Nice to meetcha."

"So, what's your bat's name?" he asked.

"Austin."

"Cool," he said, letting the little bat climb onto his hand. "He seems kinda little."

"Yeah, he is still a baby. I've been trying to teach him to fly, but he won't," I explained.

"Wanna try now?" he suggested.

"Sure!" I said letting my shoulders relax.

Everything was going smoothly.

* * *

**I know this chappie is kinda short, but it's more of a filler than anything. Tomorrow is Darren's first official day of Hogwarts! Poor guy doesn't know what he got himself into! **

**-Blood and Guts**

**Rebarbative **


	6. I Hate Toads

**Okay, here is Chapter five. I disclaim… blah blah. For scheduling I stuck the lions and the badgers together in DADA, care of magical creatures, and herbology. On another note, I took the house test on Pottermore, and it turns out I'm a Slytherin! My name is GhostKnight24261, if any of y'all want to add me.**

**Important! - I have finally decided on how I want to end the story. So this change has been made: Harry has the prophecy, which he and Dumbledore retrieved over the summer. But Harry wasn't allowed to hear it. He just knows it's a weapon of some sort, so he's scared to open it. Don't worry; it will make more sense later on! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

"I Hate Toads"

I woke up the next morning due to lots of singing. At first I was confused, but as I glanced at the yellow hangings around me and remembered where I was. I pulled away my hangings and glanced at the window, where a few happy flowers were singing. I guess they started singing when the sun came up- sort of like a floral alarm clock! I jumped out of bed and pulled a robe out of my bag. As I was changing into my robes, I glanced around the empty common room. I guess I slept in a bit. I walked over to my bag and pulled out a bottle of blood. I drank about half of the coppery liquid and placed the rest in my bag for later.

I got dressed and decided to go to the Great Hall for breakfast and to pick up my timetable. I crawled out of the tunnel-like entrance barrel, and headed to the hall. Thankfully, I didn't seem to be that late. The hall was only half full, but most Hufflepuffs were already there. Before I could get to my table, Fred and George called me over.

"Oi! Darren! Come here!" yelled George.

"Yeah! We've got some people who want to meet you!" said Fred.

I walked over to their table, where (besides the three people sitting next to them) they were being given a wide berth.

"This here is our brother Ron," he said while gesturing to another ginger. "The lovely lady with the books is Hermione Granger," he said, gesturing to a bushy haired girl. "And this four-eyed git is Harry Potter," he said, gesturing to the boy with dark hair and glasses.

"Nice to meet you all. Are you the Harry that is mentioned in my history book?" I asked.

"Probably," he said, looking like he expected me to call him a freak.

"Neat," was all I said. I knew what it felt like to be ogled at because you were a freak. And, unless you were onstage, it wasn't pleasant.

"They were asking about why you were here during the feast last night, and we told them that we met you on the train. They wanted to meet you."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all," I said, giving a mock bow. "But I am afraid I must go to eat my breakfast."

They all laughed at that and said they would see me around. I headed to my House's table and sat next to Justin. I grabbed a plate and filled it with bacon and toast. I was spreading jelly onto my toast whenever a grubby looking old man rolled in a cart. On the cart were cards- on which I assumed held my time table. I ate the rest of my toast in a hurry and went to grab my card.

I saw that my first class was Charms, followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts. After that I had muggle studies and transfiguration. Not too bad, but I would have preferred not having to see that Umbridge on a Monday morning. Me and Justin *cough* Justin and I had our first two classes together, so he said he would show me the way to my classes. He had ancient runes instead of muggle studies, but transfiguration was mandatory, so all Hufflepuffs in my year would be in it. I would simply have to find a Hufflepuff who was in Muggle Studies.

* * *

We made our way to charms class. At the beginning of the class, the short little teacher told us about our O. and how difficult this year would be. We did some basic charms, –making teacups dance, summoning, banishing etc. - all of which I nailed. I knew these were only review from previous years, but I was still proud to be able to do them! We were assigned half a foot of parchment on the charms we did, and we were to practice each of the spells.

* * *

My next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts (which will now be known as DADA). Justin and I sat together in a desk and looked at the Professor sitting at the front of the room. The class was completely silent; whether that was due to her demanding quiet or the students being intimidated by the unknown factor of Dolores Umbridge, I wasn't sure which. The three students Fred and George introduced me to this morning were the last three to enter the classroom. They took the remaining seats as the bell was rung.

"Well, good morning!" Umbridge said, once they had sat down.

There were a few scattered 'good mornings' in reply, but for the most part, the class remained silent.

"Tut, Tut" she reprimanded, "That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good morning, class!"

"Good morning Professor Umbridge," chanted everyone, including myself- mumbling counts, doesn't it?

"There now," she said with a venomously sweet tone. "That wasn't so difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please"

The class seemed to heave a collective sigh. Quills meant writing, and writing meant work. Sure, Hufflepuffs were hard workers, but that didn't mean they liked it! Umbridge pulled a stumpy wand from her bag and tapped the large blackboard that was in the front of the room.

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_A Return to Basic Principles _

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented hasn't it?" stated the toad-like professor. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in you being far below the standards we would expect to see in your O.W.L year.

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory centered, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She hit the board again and her last message was replaced by:

_Course aims:_

_1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

_2. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can be used._

_3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

I looked at the board skeptically. I had hoped to learn something useful in this class- namely spells to help me in the War of Scars- but it seemed the gods were out to make my life as miserable as possible. At most, this class would be a joke. Course aims, like hell. I was right about the controlling nature I had sensed in this woman. She was power hungry and wanted Hogwarts under her control.

After I finished copying down the useless bit of information, Umbridge said, "Has everybody got a copy of _Defensive_ _Magical Theory _by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

The class dully murmured that they had the book and the woman tittered again.

"I think we'll try that again," she said. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply 'Yes Professor Umbridge,' or 'No Professor Umbridge.' So, has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," the class said in synchronization.

"Good," said the professor. "I should like you to turn to page five and read chapter one, 'Basics for Beginners.' There will be no need to talk."

With that, the squat lady sat in her desk, eyes roaming the classroom, quite like a toad looking for a fly. I pulled out my book and opened it to the page instructed. I was about a fifth of the way through the first page when I noticed Hermione sitting with her hand firmly in the air. The professor seemed ready to ignore the girl, but then she noticed the students staring at Hermione, and decided to intervene.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she asked, feigning ignorance to the fact that Hermione had her hand up for a while.

"Not about the chapter, no," she replied.

"Well, we're reading just now," said the short professor, giving Hermione what could be considered a smile. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims," she said, disregarding Professor Umbridge's dismissal.

"And your name is-?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully," said the professor, once again, venomously sweet.

"Well, I don't" said the girl bluntly. "There's nothing written about _using_ defensive spells."

She was right, of course. There wasn't a single word that hinted towards us using the magic practically.

"_Using_ defensive spells?" Umbridge replied with a degrading laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to_ use_ a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"We're not using magic?" blurted out Ron.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class Mr.-?"

"Weasley," he said, putting a hand in the air defiantly.

The professor smiled wider, her small teeth gaping into a smile, and turned back to her blackboard. More hands went into the air. Hermione again, but joined this time by Harry. She glared at Harry and turned to Hermione.

"Yes," said Hermione. "Surely the whole point of D.A.D.A is to practice defensive spell?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?" she asked sweetly.

"No, but – "

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way-"

"What use is that?" Harry interjected loudly. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be in a –"

"_Hand, _Mr. Potter!" she said, looking like her plan had just fallen into place.

Harry threw his hand into the air again, but the professor looked to the other hands raised across the room.

"And your name is?" she asked a Gryffindor boy.

"Dean, Thomas."

"Well Mr. Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?" he asked. "If we're going to be attacked it won't be risk-free - "

"I repeat," said the annoying woman. "Do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but –"

"I do not wish to criticize the way things have been run in this school," she said, talking through the boys comment, "but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed- not to mention," she said, giving a nasty laugh, "extremely dangerous half-breeds."

_Hmm_. I wonder what that teacher was. It couldn't have been a vampire- we generally ignored wizards.

"If you mean Professor Lupin," began Dean, sounding angry, "he was the best we ever-"

"Hand, Mr. Thomas! As I was saying – you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group, and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day –"

"No we haven't," Hermione stated. "We just –"

"_Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!_"

Hermione threw her hand into the air, only to be ignored by the professor.

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them _on_ you –"

"Well he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" said Dean. "Mind you, we still learned loads –"

"Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas!" the professor trilled. "Now it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" she asked the girl who had just raised her hand.

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our D.A.D.A O.W.L? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the countercurses and things?"

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination condition," she said, dismissing the girl's question.

"Without ever practicing them before?" said the girl incredulously. "Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough –"

"And what good's theory going to be in the real world?" said Harry, interrupting her.

She looked at him and said softly, "This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world."

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting out there?"

"There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter."

"Oh yeah?" he said angrily.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" she said in a sweet tone, filled with underlying venom.

"Hmm, let's think…" he said "maybe _Lord Voldemort._"

The reaction around the room was almost comical. One girl screamed, Ron gasped, and one boy even fell out of his chair! If that's how they reacted to Voldemort's name, how would they ever be able to defeat him?

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."

The class dissolved into silence. I looked at Umbridge, who looked like she was about to speak again.

"Now, let me make a few things quite plain," she said, splaying her fingers across her desk. "You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead –"

"He wasn't dead," Harry contradicted, "but yeah, he's returned!"

"Mr-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-House-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself," she said quickly "As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large one again. _This is a lie"_

"It is NOT a lie," he retaliated. "I saw him, I fought him!"

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" she said, toad-like mouth gaping into a smile. "Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, _this is a lie. _The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come in see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, 'Basics for Beginners.'"

I looked at the now fuming Harry Potter. This whole incident reminded me of when I used Seba's authority to convince the other vampires of Kurda's treachery. Except, this time, the authority was discredited. I knew for a fact that Voldemort_ was_ back, so I stood up when Harry did.

"So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?"

After the class had their collective gasps over this new topic, I said, "How ignorant must you be? There are signs _everywhere_ of Voldemort's return. Even the _hats_ around here have noticed the war that is brewing out there."

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she said coldly before turning to me. "And your name is?"

"Darren Shan."

"Well Mr. Shan, you will find that these _hats _are currently in the hands of a genius gone daft. Now, sit down before you join Mr. Potter in detention."

"It was not an accident!" shouted Harry, "Cedric was murdered and you know it!"

"Why would Harry lie about his friends death?" I asked coolly, refusing to sit.

"Detention, Mr. Shan. You will find that at this school, there are no good children who enjoy spreading rumors about what was a tragic accident."

"Then how do you explain the recent disappearances? -which I am sure your news station conveniently decided to pass over."

"There have been _no _disappearances Mr. Shan! That is a_ lie_."

"My _friends _were taken. Why would I lie about that?"

Okay, so they weren't my friends, but they _were _part of my clan, and my clan is my family.

"I think a week's detention would serve both of you well," she said, ignoring my statement. "Take these slips to Professor McGonagall, since Professor Sprout is currently holding a class. I am sure she will pass the information along."

With that, she scribbled a note on a pink sheet of paper, tapped it with her wand to seal it, and handed it to Harry. We left the silent classroom and walked out, slamming the door behind us.

**Well, I think that's a good place to end this one. Darren**_** will**_** be friends with Harry, but I plan to make him closer to Fred and George. I like the twins and their humor, but he needs to have **_**some **_**attachment to the Golden Trio. I needed a way for him to actually talk to Harry, and what better way is there for them to bond than through detention?. You know the saying; the enemy of my enemy is my friend.**

**A _lot _of this end of this chapter came from the book. But I am trying to keep these as close to the books as possible, so that was Darren observing what happened in the books. ****I couldn't see Darren sitting through Umbridge's barrage of crap, so I made him take action.****  
**

**Blood and Guts,**

**-Rebarbative**


	7. Biscuits and Unicorns

**Okay, so this disclaimer goes for ALL of the chapters in this story: I do not own Harry Potter or the Cirque du Freak series. All rights go to their respective owners. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

"Biscuits and Unicorns"

Harry walked quickly in front of me, not slowing down. I was still new to this place, so I followed quickly behind him, not wanting to get lost. Halfway through a ghost (way different from Harkat!) floated up to Harry and me- and promptly started juggling ink wells.

"Why, it's Potty Wee Potter!" the strange poltergeist said, cackling madly and throwing inkwells.

I jumped out of the way, a bit too fast, but Harry didn't notice in his attempt to also dodge the ink.

"Get out of it Peeves," Harry said, in no mood to converse with the juggling specter.

"Oh Crackpots feeling cranky," he hissed. He finally noticed me and said, "Ooh. Does Potty have a new friend? What does this one do? Does he also speak in –"*raspberry* "_tongues?_"

As I pondered what the ghost meant by that, Harry yelled at the specter, which began singing:

"_Oh, most think he's barking, the Potty wee lad,_

_But some are more kindly and think he's just sad,_

_But Peevesy knows better and says that he's mad–_"

"SHUT UP!" Harry yelled at Peeves, who sped away laughing when a door opened.

The strict looking Professor McGonagall stepped out of the door and into the hall, no doubt looking for the source of the loud noises caused by Peeves and Harry.

"What on earth are you shouting about, Potter?" she said before giving our presence a second thought. "Why aren't you two in class?"

"We've been sent to see you," I explained.

"Sent? What do you mean, sent?" she said worriedly.

As an answer, Harry handed her the note from Umbridge. The Professor took it with a frown and tapped it with her wand. It opened and she began reading it. As she read it, her eyes began narrowing. By the end of the letter, her eyes were thin slits, glaring at the page.

"Come in here, Potter, Shan."

We followed her into the room, which seemed to be a sort of office. The door shut behind us, making me jump, and McGonagall turned to us.

"Well?" she began, "Is this true?"

"Is what true? Harry asked, rather rudely. "Professor, he added in an attempt to redeem his manners.

"We weren't allowed to read it," I added.

"Is it true that you two yelled at Professor Umbridge?" she asked.

"Yes," we said together

"You called her a liar?"

"Yes," we said, shrinking away from the Professor, from fear of scolding.

"You both said that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back?"

"Yes," we sighed together.

The professor then sat behind her desk and frowned at us.

"Have a biscuit."

"Huh?" I said confused, at the same time that Harry said, "What?"

"Have a biscuit," she said, beginning to sound impatient. "And sit down."

We each grabbed a cookie from the tin on her desk. I nibbled on the cookie, trying to figure out what had just happened. When we were sent to the strictest looking teacher in the school, I had not been expecting to be given a cookie. If this is how she treated misbehaving students, I wondered how she rewarded good students."

"You two need to be careful," she said seriously. "Misbehavior in Dolores Umbridge's class could cost you much more than House points and a detention."

"What do you–"Harry began.

"Use your common sense boys," she snapped, "You know where she comes from, you must know to whom she is reporting."

The bell rang just then, and the sounds of hundreds of students thundered around the room.

"It says here she's given you detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow," she said, looking down at the note.

"Every night this week!" I said, aghast.

"But Professor, couldn't you–" Harry started to say.

"No, I couldn't," she said, allowing no arguments. "She is your teacher and has every right to give you two detentions. You will go to her room at five o' clock tomorrow for the first one. Just remember: Tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge."

"But we were telling the truth!" said an outraged Harry. "Voldemort's back, you know he is, Professor Dumbledore knows he is–" ]

"For heaven's sake Potter!" she said while straightening her glasses- which had fallen when she heard Harry say Voldemort. "Do you really think this is about truth or lies? It's about keeping your head down and your temper under control! Didn't you listen to Dolores Umbridge's speech at the start of the year feast?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Yeah… She said.. uh.. progress will be prohibited."

"Or in other words, the Ministry of Magic is infiltrating Hogwarts," I finished.

When I finished my statement, Professor McGonagall and Harry both looked at me. Harry's eyes held surprise and respect. Professor McGonagall just stared at me, trying to decide what to make of me. In the end she just shook her head and led us out of her office.

"Er.." Harry began, "Thanks for um.. standing up for me back there. You shouldn't have done it though."

"It was nothing," I replied simply.

"Well, if you ever need anything.." he said, leaving off the ending.

"Well, there is _one_ thing," I said, when I realized I had lost my guide.

* * *

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. I had Muggle Studies with Ernie, who was part of the anti-Umbridge brigade, and he showed me how to get to transfiguration. At dinner, Fred and George managed to slip something into my drink, which left me steaming for hours- literally! Homework was piling up, (and it was only the first day!) so I spent my evening with Ernie, writing a report on the difficulties of animal transfiguration. By the time I made it to my four-poster, I was ready to drop. I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit my pillow.

* * *

I woke up the next morning before the plants began to sing. Most of my fellow Hufflepuffs were awake too, sitting on their beds and rubbing their eyes. I had left my hangings open last night, and the light from the sunny dormitory had woken me up. I stretched like a cat and hopped down from my bed. I reached into my, now messy, trunk and pulled out a set of robes. I pulled them on and waltzed into the common room. Justin and Hannah Abbot (the girl prefect) were sitting together on a yellow couch, proofreading their essays. I sat in a chair that was sitting near them, and started a conversation.

"So, is the Great Hall open yet?" I inquired.

"Yeah, but almost no one is in there" replied Hannah. "Just a few first years trying to make a good impression. Did you finish your essay?"

"Yeah. I did it all last night. I know there is going to be even _more _homework today, so I wanted to get it out of the way," I explained.

"Too right. You can bet that Professor Snape will give us a load of work," piped Justin.

We spent the next few minutes in silence. Justin and Hannah finished their papers, while I made multicolored smoke rings come out of my wand. We headed to the Great Hall, and enjoyed a nice breakfast, all of which I smelled carefully; I didn't want any more surprises in my food.

"Look Fred! It's the human tea kettle!" yelled George.

I rolled my eyes and spun in my seat, turning to face the Weasley twins.

"Look Jordan! Two speckled monkeys in the great hall! I wonder if they do tricks!" I said, nudging Jordan with my elbow.

Fred and George laughed. George playfully swung a fist at me, which I dodged- not too quickly though!

I stood up (breakfast forgotten) and walked with Fred and George to the Gryffindor Table. They looked surprised when I sat with them; I guessed that house didn't mix much. But, they welcomed me and introduced me to a few more Gryffindors.

After breakfast, I left the twins and walked over to Stebbins, who was heading to potions class.

"Hey mate!" he said. "I heard you got detention with Umbridge; on your first day too!"

"Haha... Yeah," I mumbled in reply, as we descended further into the castle.

We went down a_ ton _of staircases before we reached Professor Snape's classroom. We took a seat near the front (which was empty) and pulled out our supplies. The bell rang a moment later, and all talking ceased as the doors slammed shut menacingly. A pallid, bat-like man stormed to the front of the classroom and slammed his hands on his desk.

"Welcome, to what will be, to many of you, your last year of Potions," the greasy man drawled. "This June, each of you will be taking your O.W.L exams, and only those who manage to make and Outstanding will be allowed to continue my class."

Many of the Ravenclaws leaned forward eagerly, ready to accept the challenge. But, one timid Hufflepuff girl looked about ready to cry.

"But," he said dramatically, "You still have one more year before you can end your studies with me, so let us begin. Today, we will begin with the Draught of Peace. This potion is commonly seen in your owls, so I expect the very_ best_ from you. You will find all your ingredients in the student's cupboard, and all instructions are on the board. You may begin."

Potion making wasn't all that bad. It was a bit like cooking; if you followed the instructions, you were fine. By the end of the hour, I had a somewhat shimmery potion, which I put into a flask for grading. The Professor looked at my potion and simply nodded, which was an improvement to how he treated the others. I rather liked this professor. His gloomy demeanor and long greasy locks, reminded me of Mika. The gloomy prince had taken a liking to me… in his own way, (He only had a small grimace when he looked at me now!) and the reminder of the mountain made me smile. I went to my seat and packed my bag.

My next class was Care of Magical Creatures, (COMC) with Professor Grubby-Plank. I walked with Justin and Stebbins to the outside of the castle, where the Professor was waiting with _unicorns. _Two were golden and small, but the third was the pure white, horned creature of myth. The girls around me were practically drooling at the tied up creatures. The teacher walked to the front of the class and looked to the class.

"This year," she said in a rough, but pleasant, voice, "is your O.W.L year. For most students, it is the hardest year of their Hogwarts career. It does _not _have to be this way. This year is only as hard as _you _make it. I am here to teach you about magical creatures. If you pay attention and do your work, there is no reason for you to make anything less than an Acceptable on your exams."

After her introduction speech, she gestured to the unicorns behind her.

"These," she said, still gesturing, "are unicorns. They are coveted for their blood, hair, and horns. They are gold for the first few years of their life, before they turn..."

She drabbled on about unicorns for the better part of the hour, before allowing students to pet them. At first, she only allowed girls (they were considered more trustworthy to the beasts) before allowing us guys to touch them. When it was my turn to pet them, I walked up to the small gold ones, squatted down, and petted the smallest one. I had barely laid my hand on it, when it promptly kicked me in the face. I fell to ground with a huff and tried to clear my head. The unicorn was now spazzing out, trying to kick me again. I backed away. As soon as I was out of its range of smell, it calmed down.

I turned to the now laughing class; even the professor was trying to suppress a chuckle! I stomped to the back of the line, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were snickering.

"Hey mate," chortled Ron. "You've got a bit of dirt on your face."

"Shut it"

* * *

**Sorry for the wait on this one guys! I left my OOTP book at my dad's house, and didn't get it back until today! In other news, I got a pet hedgehog! He is now keeping me company as I write. Next chapter has Harry and Darren in detention!**

**Blood and guts**

**-Rebarbative **


	8. Punishment and Quidditch

**Sorry for the delay. My wifi is busted :/ I'm at my Dad's ranch, and thankfully there is wifi here! I'm planning on posting another chapter before I leave. But, my wifi should be up and running soon!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

"Punishment and Quidditch"

The rest of the day had passed quickly. Before I knew it, dinner had passed -which meant it was time for detention! I looked around the gloomy hall, seeking out Harry. I saw him sitting with Ron and Hermione, (as usual) and walked over to his table.

"Hey Harry," I said. "We've got detention together in a few minutes, and I was wondering if you could show me how to get to Umbridge's office.."

"Sure mate," Harry replied. "I was about to leave myself. We have five minutes till detention starts, but her office isn't far."

"Alright. Lead the way."

* * *

We spent the time that we were walking to her office taking guesses at what our punishment would be. Our guesses ranged from hanging by our toes for an hour, to being forced to wear her pink cardigan. We came to a door on the third floor, where Harry knocked quietly.

"Come in," Umbridge replied sweetly to the knock.

Harry opened the door and held it, while I walked in first. The room looked similar to a combination of an exploded bottle of Pepto Bismol and a lace factory. The room was covered with lacey pink table covers and vases of dried flowers. She had a wall dedicated to her… ornamental kitten-plate collection? Sitting in the lake of lace and flowers was Umbridge. She herself blended into the room, with her flowered robe and fluffy pink hat.

"Well, sit down," she said, gesturing to the two small desks in front of hers.

I sat down and my seat and glanced back at Harry who, to my surprise, hadn't moved.

"Er," he mumbled, trying to find words. "Professor Umbridge? Er– before we start, I-I wanted to ask you a … a favor."

"Oh yes?" she replied, eyes narrowing.

"Well I'm…" he stuttered, "I'm on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And I was supposed to be at the tryouts for the new Keeper at five o' clock on Friday and I was –was wondering whether I could skip detention that night and do it –do it another night… instead."

I could have told him halfway through his statement that it was no good, but he seemed to have realized that himself.

"Oh no," said Umbridge with a gaping smile. "Oh no, no, no, no. This is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention-seeking stories, Mr. Potter, and punishment cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you will come here at five o'clock tomorrow and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it rather a good thing that you are missing something you really want to do. It ought to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you."

She watched a red-faced Harry with a tilted head, as if expecting retaliation. When he finally sat down, she turned to me.

"Mr. Shan, the same goes for you. Unless there is some sort of emergency, you are expected to be here at five o' clock, every evening this week."

I just nodded and thought about what Harry said. Quidditch Team. My _Modern Day Wizards _book had mentioned Quidditch, but I had not thought much of the sport. I wondered if the Hufflepuff team was any good…

"There," Umbridge commented smugly. "We are getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we? Now, you two will be doing lines for me today. There will be no need for that quill Mr. Potter. You will be using a rather special one of mine," she said when she saw Harry pull out a quill.

She pulled out two, thick, sharply pointed quills from her bag and handed them to us.

"I want you to write, '_I must not tell lies'_" she instructed.

"How many times?" Harry asked, with a poor attempt to sound polite.

"As long as it takes for the message to_ sink_ in," she said, putting too much emphasis on the word 'sink' for my liking. "Off you go."

I was about to start writing, but Harry pointed out a problem.

"You haven't given us any ink.." he pointed out.

I hadn't noticed because I was used to automatic ink pens. Maybe these were automatic quills or something.

"Oh, you won't need ink," she said, on the verge of laughter.

I guess my assumption was _somewhat_ correct, because when I started writing, ink came out of the quill. But as I was writing, it felt as if a scalpel was scraping across my hand. I looked closely at the ink and sniffed. _Blood_. Harry must have begun writing, because I heard a sharp gasp come from him. Umbridge heard the gasp too, and looked at Harry with a smile.

"Yes?"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

I continued writing. A little scratch on my hand was nothing compared to some of the pain I had been subjected to. As I wrote, I thought about the Path of Needles, and how much worse that was than this. I admired Harry's bravery and his ability to put himself through pain; Most humans were fearful of pain. Harry would have made a fine vampire.

* * *

By the time the detention was over, darkness had long fallen around the castle. Harry's hand seemed to have fared worse than mine. My scarred vampire skin was a bit tougher than a human's skin –so that was expected.

"Come here," Umbridge instructed us.

"Hands," she said when she reached us.

Harry's hand was raw, and looked painful. My hand was slightly red, which was hard to see with the burn scars already on that hand.

"Tut, tut," she said, touching him with her stubby and ringed fingers, "I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet. Well, we'll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won't we? You may go."

We said our goodbyes out in a corridor a few away from Umbridge's office. Harry began walking away from me, but after a few minutes, I heard him running down the halls. I only heard his footsteps, so I assumed he was running to get back to his common room faster. I, on the other hand, wanted to explore. I dug my claw-like nails into the stone wall nearest to me, and began to climb. I didn't want to be spotted roaming around past midnight-that's why I took the Spiderman route.

* * *

I woke up groggy the next morning. After my exploration of the castle, (In which I found two secret passages!) I returned to my common room and finished my homework. It was closer to morning than night when I fell asleep, so I decided to sleep in. I had covered the singing plants so they wouldn't wake me, and consequently, I had ten minutes to get to class! I pulled on some robes and combed through my hair with my fingers. My first class of the day was herbology, which was outside. I entered the almost empty common room and crawled out of the entrance barrel as fast as I could. I climbed up some stairs and found an empty class room. I unlatched the first window I saw and looked down for students. There were a few heading towards some green houses, but none looking my way. I jumped out of the window quickly and landed in a crouch. I ran as quickly as I could, without drawing attention, and managed to make it to the class as soon as the bell rang. I huffed and sat next to a Gryffindor, who was sitting alone in the front row.

I looked at the boy and recognized him. He had fallen from his seat when he heard Harry say Voldemort. He had a pulsating, gray cactus on his desk in front of him, which he was petting softly. Great. I picked a cactus-loving, cowardly Gryffindor to sit by.

"Hi, My name's Neville Longbottom. You're Darren Shan, aren't you?" he said, rather timidly.

"Yeah, that's me," I replied sleepily.

"Rough night? I bet detention with Umbridge was a pain." he stated.

"A bit. We had to write lines for hours."

"Lines? That doesn't seem too bad.." he said.

"Well, let's just say that Umbridge takes writing lines to the next level," I said, ending the conversation.

Right after our conversation ended, a rumpled looking woman walked in. She dusted off her mud crusted gloves on her equally dirty shirt and said:

"Sorry I'm late class. Well, welcome to Greenhouse Five! You will encounter dangerous and fascinating plants in this greenhouse, most of which will be on your O.W.L exams! Today we will be milking the Venomous Tentacula-which are rather moody in the morning, so be extra-careful and wear your dragon hide gloves."

I pulled on my dragon hide gloves (from dragons _very_ different from the intelligent reptiles I saw in the future) and prepared myself for milking the poisonous plants. I guessed that milking these plants would be similar to helping Evra milk his snake when she was sick, so I was prepared for lots of biting. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard. Neville did most of the work –It was like he was some kind of plant whisperer. Either way, Professor Sprout was impressed by our speed and efficiency. I found out after class that she was my head of house- which explains all the plants in our common room.

That night, detention left Harry's hand bleeding and my hand raw and itchy. By the end of the week, the quill would surely manage to break through my skin. I suppose Umbridge expected it to scar us, branding us in a way. But she didn't know the extent of a vampire's healing skills. If it _did _by chance leave a scar, it would be very faint, and fade after a few years. Harry, on the other hand, wouldn't be so lucky...

The rest of my week passed in a blur, filled with lots of homework finishing and line writing. Before I knew it, it was my last night in detention. Harry seemed anxious through the whole detention- and not just because of his bleeding hand! He kept staring out of the window behind Umbridge's desk. Then it clicked- He was trying to watch the Quidditch Trials!

After about an hour of writing, my hand began to bleed. Not nearly as bad as Harry's was, but my lines were now smeared with drops of my blood. I tried to get a little blood on the cloth that was covering my desk- just so Umbridge would have to clean it- but I had to be careful that she didn't see me doing it. Two pain-filled hours later, the detention finished. Umbridge called both of us up to her desk, and examined our hands. She looked at mine expressionlessly and squeezed my hand. (I suppose she was hoping to inflict a last bit of pain.) She grabbed Harry's hand when I didn't react. His reaction was_ very _different from mine. He jumped up from his desk and twisted away from her. Rather than being in pain, he appeared to have a mixture of fear and hilarity on his face.

Umbridge didn't seem to notice because she simply said, "Yes, it hurts, doesn't it? I think I've made my point. You two are free to go."

We walked out of her horrid office (hopefully for the last time) and walked together in silence.

"Ya know," Harry said after a few minutes. "Hermione has some stuff that will help the stinging a bit. I think it's called essence of murtlap- or something like that. You can use some if you want…" he trailed off.

"Sure," I said to be polite- My hand would heal fast enough and the stinging wasn't _that _bad, but why look a gift horse in the mouth?

"It's past midnight, so not many people will be in my common room. Why don't you come with me and we can get the essence now. Fred and George might even be up."

"Sure!" I said, excited at the prospect of this new adventure- I bet that few students got the chance to see another Houses common room.

"Brilliant."

* * *

**I don't know where exactly in the OOTP Hermione gives Harry the mutrlap (couldn't find it) so I put it right here. I think that the Houses **_**should**_** interact more, so I am using Darren to demonstrate this. Plus, he needs to get closer to the anti-Voldy team- that**_** is**_** his mission after all!**

**Blood and Guts**

**-Rebarbative**


	9. Into the Lion's Den

**Hello! Here is that promised chapter! I got to feed the baby deer at my dad's ranch! They loved me. It almost broke my heart to hear them 'cry.' ): Oh well, here's your chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Nine

"Into the Lion's Den"

We headed to the northern part of the castle, until we reached a portrait of a rather fat lady. She was dressed completely in pink and appeared to be drinking a vat of wine. She must have stolen the wine from a different portrait, because it had a different type of paint.

"Pass- *hic*word?" she asked, scaring me. (I knew they could move- but talking was new!)

"Mimbulus mimbletonia," he said to the hiccupping portrait.

She swung forward to reveal an opening. We had barely stepped inside when a loud roar was made. I automatically pulled my hands up in a defensive posture- but there was no need.

"Harry, I did it. I'm in, I'm Keeper!"

"What? Oh –brilliant!" he said, looking overwhelmed. "Where's Hermione."

"She's over there," said Fred, before noticing me. "Darren! Who let the Hufflepuff in?"

"Nice to see you too," I responded with a smirk.

"Well, as long as you're here, have some butterbeer!" He said, handing me a bottle of yellow liquid.

"Aren't you a little too young to drink?" I teased.

"Coming from you?" responded Lee, who had just shown up. "How old are you? Eleven? Wait, no! Twelve?"

"Stuff it," I said, taking a swig of the drink.

I had barely finished my first sip, when I exploded into a canary! All the Gryffindors in the common room looked at me incredulously as I molted and slowly turned back into a human- well... Half human anyways.

"Buy Canary Creams for two Sickles!" Fred announced loudly.

"How did you manage to slip a pastry into my drink," I asked George after my shock faded.

"We didn't," he answered simply. "We just put the potion that's in the pastries into your drink."

"Oh…" I said lamely, before getting an idea. "Say, can I buy some of that potion?"

"Nah…" he said, leaving me looking disappointed. "For you, it's free! You were our guinea pig, so you deserve some sort of payment.

"Thanks…" I said, rolling my eyes.

Just then, Harry walked over with two bowls. He gestured for me to follow him. He led me to a comfortable looking red chair in front of the fireplace.

"Here, you just stick your hand in the bowl," he instructed. "It does wonders…"

I did as he said and felt instant relief. It was like the liquid was syphoning the pain from my hand.

"That feels amazing," I commented. "Give Hermione my thanks."

"No problem," he said. "So, what do you think of the common room?"

"Well… It's_ very _different from the Hufflepuff common room. It feels less sunshiny and more of a… fire in the winter type of warmth. It's not as earthy either."

"Earthy?"

"Yeah, our common room is full of dancing and singing plants. It looks kind of like we're underground, except, there are windows."

"Well I guess that kind of makes sense. Your head of house_ is_ the Herbology professor."

We chatted about our respective common rooms for a while, but then I decided it was time to go.

"It's starting to get late," I remarked. "We're the only ones left in here. I better leave before someone notices I'm missing."

"Alright. Have a good… morning."

"Hah. Thanks again."

"No problem…" he replied. "Say, would you mind showing me your common room one day?"

"Sure! Just find me one night and I'll show you!" I said as I walked through the portrait hole.

I needed to carry out my plans tomorrow at breakfast, so I didn't go on another exploration. I simply headed back to my common room and opened my four-poster's curtains wide.

* * *

I woke up Saturday morning, just before breakfast started. I ran to the nearest restroom and showered quickly. I slipped on my robes (which had appeared clean and folded on my bed last night) and grabbed the small vial of potion Fred and George had given me. I needed to act when there were the most people in the great hall, so I waited for most of the Hufflepuffs to leave the common room. I crawled out of the entrance barrel and leisurely made my way to the Great Hall. Right before I opened the doors, I uncorked the potion. It seems that the bit of stage magic Mr. Crepsley taught me would finally come in handy.

I walked into the Great Hall and sought out Fred and George. I walked behind them and said:

"Well boys, it seems like your title of 'Hogwarts' Greatest Pranksters' is about to be stolen."

"I highly doubt that," George replied amusedly.

"Just what are you planning to do?" Fred asked curiously.

"Just watch"

I walked off with a smirk and made like I was heading to my table. As I was passing the teacher's table, I moved with speed to fast for human eyes. I dumped the contents of the potion in Umbridge's drink and continued on my way to the Hufflepuff table. Fred and George looked at me confusedly. I mouthed 'Wait for it' and helped myself to some bacon.

A few minute later, and indignant squawk sounded at the front of the hall; Umbridge had finally sipped her drink. I waited for her to begin molting, but, to my surprise (and horror), she didn't! Fred and George gaped at me, while the rest of the hall erupted into laughter. A few minutes later, once the chaos calmed a bit, a less serious than normal, Professor McGonagall led Umbridge out of the Hall. After most of the students had left, I waltzed over to Fred and George, grinning triumphantly.

"Wicked," was all they could say.

My first month of wizard school went great! I finally taught Austin to fly, and now that crazy bat hardly wanted to get into his cage –not that I could blame him. Umbridge eventually turned back to normal, but we had her class as a free period for a few days. It turns out that the dosage I had used could have been used for five full-grown men! The first Hogsmeade trip was approaching, and I was anxious to see my mentor. A whole month with no vampire contact was slightly saddening. My wizard friends were great, but none of them really_ knew_ me.

"Hey, Darren!"

I turned to the direction that the shout had come from and saw the Golden Trio.

"Hey," I replied. "Did you need something?"

"Um yeah," said Ron. "Next weekend is the first Hogsmeade trip and we were wondering…"

"We were wondering if you would like to join our DADA group," finished Hermione.

"Yeah," said Harry, sounding tired. "We decided since Voldemort _*flinches from Ron & mione* _-come on guys, it's just a name- since Voldemort's back, that we should have a real DADA teacher. And Ron and Hermione nominated me."

"Sure! that sounds like a great idea!" I replied.

"Alright. We're having a meeting during the Hogsmeade trip. It will be in the Hog's Head, more towards the end of the trip. Can you make it?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I have to take care of something, but I'll be there," I replied.

"Fantastic!" Hermione said. "See you then."

"Alright. Later."

I continued my walk, heading to the large lake that bordered the school. As I walked, I thought about the DADA group. It was brilliant. Surely all the people in it would be anti- Voldemort, so it would help my mission along. Mr. Crepsley wouldn't be happy with me for leaving early, but he would agree that it was necessary.

* * *

On Saturday morning, I grabbed my small rucksack and filled it with my empty blood vials. There weren't many empty ones, but my next visit wasn't until early December, so I wanted to make sure that I had enough blood for those months. I headed to the Great Hall with my bag, since we were leaving after breakfast. I ate a hurried breakfast and double checked my bag. I was going to try and do some shopping while in the village. I had eaten a few of my blood pops, and I loved them! I was planning on giving my remaining ones to Mr. Crepsley as a gift. Fred said that the village had an amazing candy shop, and I was planning to shop there.

I wasn't sure how we were getting to Hogsmeade; George said something about a carriage. I walked outside, and nearly jumped out of my shoes! There were carriages alright, but they weren't being pulled by your everyday, typical horses! Large, leathery skinned, _winged _horses were pulling them. I looked into the glassy eyes of the… stallion? Anyways, I looked into his eyes and petted his nose.

"What on earth are you doing?" Ron Weasley said behind me.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I said sarcastically. "I'm petting this… horse thing."

"Wait," said Harry, who was next to him. "You see them too?"

"Of course," I replied, becoming confused, "They're kinda hard to miss."

Hermione shared a glance with Harry and said, "There aren't any horses pulling the carriages Darren…"

"Of course there are," I said, growing worried. "Here, touch him."

I pulled her forward and placed her hand on his snout. She jerked away from the mare in surprise and looked at me.

"How come you can see them but we can't?"

"No idea," I replied. "But let's go. We're holding up the line."

We climbed into the carriages. Ron and Hermione looked scared, while Harry looked deeply in thought. We rode into the village in silence, with the sound of the strange horse's hooves echoing on the pavement.

* * *

**Don't shoot me for the shortness on this one please! To make up for it, next chapter is filled with Mr. Crepsley goodness! **

**Blood and Guts**

**-Rebarbative **


	10. The Shrieking Shack

**Now that we have gotten the beginning out of the way, we can get into the meat of the story! Annnnd: Yay Larten is back!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Ten

"The Shrieking Shack"

We pulled to a stop at an open iron gate. I hopped off the carriage and said goodbye to the, still spooked, trio. They were headed to Honeydukes. _I _was headed to the shrieking shack. I followed the small wooden signs, which were along the sides of the cobblestone road, until I reached the far end of the village. I looked around to see if there were any eyes nearby and, seeing none, I slipped into the woods –I didn't want to be seen walking up the hill to the shack. I slipped through the trees and came to the edge of the woods- directly across from the shack. I gathered up the muscles in my legs and sprinted to the shack, my figure blurring as I moved. I hoped that anyone who saw me wrote off the strange blurring figure as some sort of ghost, which were rumored to reside in the shack.

* * *

I walked inside the back door, wincing as it made a loud creaking noise when I pulled it open. I looked around the dark shack, trying to find some sign of my mentor. I walked further inside when I didn't immediately see him. I heard a rustle of fabric behind me, but acted as if I hadn't heard it. I took a nonchalant glance at the window, using the slight reflection to see Mr. Crepsley crouching above the doorway. I watched as he tensed his muscles, preparing to leap. When he finally jumped, I jumped down, landing spread eagle on the floor, causing Mr. Crepsley to fly over my head –strait into the wall! The decaying wood buckled under his weight, and he fell on the floor in a heap.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. A flustered Mr. Crepsley stood to his feet, turning to face me. His face was already beginning to show signs of bruising. His nose was twisted far to the side, giving him a comical look.

"How's your face?" I asked, still laughing. "I don't recommend setting your nose back into place –it looks better like that!"

"Do not be ridiculous," he stated, twisting his nose back with a loud _crunch. _"At least your senses have not dulled any more than they already were. If I had not wanted you to hear me, I would not have rustled my robes. It was merely a test."

"Stuffy as ever I see..." I replied. "Nice place you've got here," I said, looking at the shabby and torn furniture, and the claw marks along the wall. "See any ghosts?"

"Of course not," he said, rolling his eyes. "There is no such thing."

"Actually… You'd be surprised…"

I told him about the strange specters that were floating around the halls of Hogwarts. He looked troubled when I had finished my tale.

"That is most unnerving. I had assumed that Paradise and the Lake of Souls were the only destination for the departed."

"Me too," I replied. "First Little People, now ghost. What's next? Zombies?"

"Harkat seems a bit like a zombie…" Mr. Crepsley remarked.

We both laughed at that and exchange a glance.

"I missed you," I told him.

"I missed you as well," he replied, looking uncomfortable. (He was never a touchy-feely kind of person)

I smiled and said, "I have a present for you!"

"What is it?" he asked, looking suspicious.

I pulled a blood pop from my bag and gave it to him.

He looked at the sucker with a weary expression and asked, "A Lollipop?"

"Just taste it," I replied. "They're awesome."

"If this is a joke…" he said, letting a warning slip into his voice.

He peeled off the candy's wrapper and gingerly licked the pop. His eyes widened in surprise as he registered the taste. He licked it again, to make sure he had tasted right, and turned to me.

"Why does this candy taste like blood?" he asked.

"It's a blood pop!" I told him. "I bought them on the school train."

"Why on earth would they be selling blood coated candy on a train meant for_ human_ children?" he asked, bewildered.

"The trolley-lady said it was usually used for pranks," I explained. "But, I bet they are really for any vampires that might show up."

"I suppose that makes sense," he said, stroking his scar with a thoughtful expression, before changing the subject. "You said that you would have to leave for a meeting later this afternoon. But your message did not say _what _the meeting is about."

"Oh," I said dumbly. "It's about Harry Potter. He and his friends want to form a sort of Anti-Voldemort group. We will be learning defensive spells, so that we can be prepared for an attack."

"Harry Potter? As in the Harry that you read about in your books?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," I replied. "He is in my year. I got to know him a bit in deten-" I trailed off, not wanting to tell him about my punishment.

"In what?" he said, demanding an answer.

"Detention…" I mumbled, waiting for the smack that was sure to come.

"Do you think it wise to get yourself kicked out of this wizarding school? The whole plan could have been jeopardized because of your childish behavior." he said, delivering a quick blow to the back of my head.

"One detention won't get me expelled," I argued. "Plus, it helped me earn respect from the wizards against Voldemort!"

"Well, at least some good came of it," he replied, returning to his usual calm demeanor. "So, where and when is this meeting to take place?"

"Some pub called the Hog's Head," I replied. "We are to meet there at five, an hour before we head back to the school. Why?"

"I think that I should attend this… meeting," he answered. "It would be beneficial for me to know more about this Defense Group."

"That would be smart," I agreed, "but you need to hide your face. Someone might recognize you from the train station."

"Yes," he said, nodding his head. "It would also supply me with some protection from the sun."

He walked across the room and pulled a tattered red cloak from his bag. He drew his sharp nails across the fabric, shredding it into a scarf-like cloth.

"This should do," he announced. "At four, I believe we should make our way into the village. You should leave a few minutes before me, so we do not attract unwanted attention. I will head straight to the pub, while you browse the shops until the time of your meeting."

"Alright," I agreed.

I may have been a Prince, but Mr. Crepsley had much more experience in making plans. If I had objected to his plan in any way, we would have thought of a new one. But, his plan seemed solid enough, so I did not argue with it.

"Did you manage to fill the bottles while I was gone?" I asked, remembering why I was here.

"Yes," he said simply. "I visited my old friend, Jimmy Ovo a week or so ago. He was surprised to hear that you were still alive."

"That's right," I said, remembering the man. "Last time we visited him, I still wasn't drinking blood!"

"Sometimes, I almost forget that you were once more foolish than you are now," Mr. Crepsley said with a smirk, interrupting my trip down memory lane. "Let us exchange these bottles. I have news from the mountain that we need to discuss before you leave."

I pulled out the five empty bottles from my bag, which I traded for ten of the freshly filled ones –He was giving me extra bottles so that I would have enough blood to last me until winter.

When I had the bottles safely tucked away, I turned to Mr. Crepsley and asked, "So, what's this news you were talking about?"

"Well. It seems that Voldemort has been trying to wipe out the vampire population. There have been deaths, but no marks on any of the bodies of the dead vampires. Since wizards do no not know our history, they do not know that there is a difference between vampires and vampaneze. It has been reported that many vampaneze have been killed in the last month. Most of them are stumped; they do not understand why the wizards have been attacking them. They have called a cease-fire with us for the time being, quite like last time we warred. If we kept fighting, both sides will be exterminated. There have even been rumors about the possibility of a truce."

I gave the information a moment to sink in. A truce was an unexpected (but welcome) occurrence. But, knowing Steve, as soon as we turned our backs, he would stab them. My mind flashed back to that dreadful moment when he told me his greatest secret…

* * *

*flashback*

Vancha, Mr. Crepsley, and I were headed back to Vampire Mountain, but we had stopped to camp for the day. I was filling up our water containers, because there we were about to cross a stretch of land where water was scarce.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" a voice sounded from behind me.

I turned to the voice, where I saw Steve Leopard and Gannen Harst standing behind me. Steve smirked and threw something at me. I caught it instinctively and examined the item. It was a scarf. I sniffed it lightly, trying to figure out who it was for. _Debbie. _

I clutched the slightly charred cloth to my chest and asked angrily, "What did you do to her?"

Steve, smirk still on his face, said "_Me_? Nothing. I didn't touch her." He paused dramatically and added, "But, R.V. on the other hand…"

My anger got the better of me, and I lunged forward to attack the smirking half-vampaneze. He seemed surprised by the speed and anger I put into my attack. He raised his hands to block me, but he wasn't fast enough. I raked my nails down his face, leaving deep, bloody gouges. Gannen stepped in, making use of his full-blooded vampaneze strength, and pinned my arms behind my back. I twisted, trying to break his hold, but that caused my elbow to creak dangerously. I knew if I kept pulling that the pressure would break my arm, so I quit struggling and tried to think of a plan. Steve, on the other hand, was touching the wound on his face with bloody fingers. He seemed stunned, like he hadn't thought I could really hurt him. Gannen decided to bring him back to the real world.

"Steve," he said seriously. "I've got him trapped. Kill him now before he escapes."

"No," he replied firmly. "We didn't come here to kill him. Just to… deliver a message."

"Then get it over with. I can't hold him forever."

I looked back and forth between the two vampaneze. We had found out from Mark (the vampet Vancha tortured) that only the Vampaneze Lord could kill us. So why was Gannen telling Steve to kill me?

"Are you ready to send him sleepy-byes?" Steve asked, stepping closer to me.

"Yes," Gannen replied. "Just hurry and tell him, before someone notices that he is missing."

"Alright, alright," Steve replied, bending over to whisper in my ear.

*end flashback*

* * *

Finding out that your ex-best friend wants to kill you is no walk in the park. Finding out that your ex-best friend wants to kill you_, and _has a whole race of powerful monsters behind him is completely unnerving. Steve was the Lord of all Vampaneze, and wanted me and my clan dead. He wouldn't agree to a truce unless he thought he could use it to get to me and the other hunters. Well, I had a different idea. We_ could_ agree to the truce without having to deal with Steve. As long as the three hunters didn't interact with the vampaneze, a truce would benefit the whole clan. I discussed my plan with Mr. Crepsley until it was time for me to leave. I helped him wrap his makeshift scarf around his head, gave him a stiff hug, and ran to the road leading into Hogsmeade.

* * *

**I hope that this chapter amused you, and help clear up any confusion about what happened before the story began. Darren needed to know that Steve was the Vampaneze Lord, so I decided to throw that flashback in. **

**Blood and Guts**

**-Rebarbative**


	11. The Hog's Head

**Hello there! I was reading some other fics and I saw a lot of people do shout outs to reviewers, so I decided to give it a shot. **

**So… I give my thanks to *takes a deep breath* Cat Attack 411! Kanathia! KBerry! BeautifulNoMatterWhat! Timeandcirque! SinMeracle! **

**On with the story!**

* * *

Chapter 11:

"The Hog's Head"

I made it to the cobblestone road within minutes. I headed north, back to the main part of the village. There was a small crowd bustling through the streets. Most of them were Hogwarts' students, but occasionally I caught a glimpse of an adult wizard hurrying to their destination. I still had an hour before the planned meeting, so I decided to do some exploring.

I walked to the far edge of the main road, where I spotted _Zonko's Joke Shop_. A malicious grin made its way to my face as I stepped into the joke store. I scanned the stores cluttered shelves, not looking for anything particular. I saw sneezing powder, a love potion, and a potion that makes the drinker break out into boils. I ignored the boil potion and sneezing powder, and reached for the small pink bottle. I read the back, which said:

_**Merlin's Magic Love Liquid**_

_**Guaranteed infatuation for up to 24 hours!**_

_**Simply slip a hair of your beloved's into the potion **_

_**and pour it into your next meal!**_

_Results will take up to one hour to show._

I grinned; this was perfect! I went to the front of the shop and purchased the potion, receiving a wary look from the shop owner –I guess he thought I was going to use it on some poor girl. I walked out of the shop and spotted Honeydukes, the wizarding candy store. I walked inside the store and looked around. Shelves of edible quills, chocolate, and (most importantly) blood pops surrounded me. I picked up one of the small baskets supplied at the front of the store and headed to the shelves of blood pops. The store was mostly empty, so no one saw me put a handful of the candies into my basket. I also got a large slab of chocolate, some edible quills, and a few licorice wands. I checked out at a dingy looking desk. If the storeowner thought my purchase was weird, he didn't remark on it. I walked out of the store, munching on the slab of chocolate.

I still had twenty minutes till the meeting started, so I headed to the nearest pet store to pick up some more bat treats (I had used most of them to coax Austin into the air). The pet store was pretty plain. They only sold a few cats, which hissed and spat as I walked by. I checked out and went to find the Hog's Head.

I nearly missed the swinging sign, thinking that we would be meeting in a nicer, more crowded place. I looked inside, thinking that the trio had told me the wrong name, but I was surprise to see that they (and a small group of people) were sitting at a table and drinking butterbeer. While giving the others the impression that I was looking around the small pub, I searched for Mr. Crepsley. My eyes passed over a man in a veil, (pretending to be a woman) a heavily bandaged man drinking a smoking drink, and a grimy looking barman before I spotted him. He was sitting in the shadows, as far from the sun as possible, and sipping from a mug of ale. He nodded lightly while I continued to pretend to scan the room. It seemed that hiding your face was pretty popular in this place. Mr. Crepsley blended in perfectly. I walked over to where Fred and George sat. They pulled up a seat and handed me a drink.

"Just in time!" said Fred.

"Yeah. The meetings about to start!" George said, finishing his brother's statement and clapping me on the back.

We chatted for a minute, but our conversation died out as it grew quiet around us.

"Er," said a nervous looking Hermione. "Well –er –hi."

As she spoke, most of the room's focus darted between her and Harry.

"Well… erm… well, you know why you're here. Erm well, Harry here I had the idea – *insert sharp glare from Harry* I mean, I had the idea –that it might be good if people who wanted to study DADA –and I mean, really study it, you know, not that rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us –" Hermione began, before finding some confidence, "because nobody could call that DADA –"

"Hear, hear," some boy said, strengthening Hermione's resolve.

"Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands," she stated, before turning to look at Harry.

"And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the reals spells –"she finished, looking relieved. "Well then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week –"

"Hang on," a Gryffindor girl said, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch Practice

"No," said another girl, "nor with ours."

"Nor ours," said a boy I recognized as Zacharias Smith, a sixth year Hufflepuff.

"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," Hermione said, sounding rather impatient, " but you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning how to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters –"

"Well said!" Ernie Macmillan shouted behind me, making me jump. "Personally I think this is really important…"

I looked at my shoes. Knowing Ernie, this was going to be a long and boring monologue. I zoned out until I a familiar cough broke through the noise.

"_Hem, hem_."

I looked to my left, identifying the cougher. It was the twin's youngest sister, Ginny. I laughed, as did many of the people around me. A lot of the tension in the room settled.

"Weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to meet and get Defense lessons?" Ginny asked when the laughter died down.

"Yes," Hermione said quickly. "Yes we were, you're right.

"Well, once a week sounds cool," Lee Jordan spoke up.

"As long as –"began the Gryffindor girl.

Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch," Hermione said, interrupting her. "Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet…"

There was a moment of silence before a girl suggested, "Library?"

"I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in the library," said Harry

.

"Maybe an unused classroom?" said Dean Thomas, a fifth year Gryffindor.

"Yeah," piped Ron. "McGonagall might let us have hers, she did when Harry was practicing for the Triwizard…" he trailed off, realizing that the strict Professor probably wouldn't be too keen on letting us do illicit activities in her classroom.

"Right, well, we'll try to find somewhere," Hermione said, "We'll send a message round to everybody when we've got a time and a place for the first meeting."

She pulled out a parchment and quill from the depths of her bag and hesitated, as if she were about to give bad news.

"I-I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. "But I also think- deep breath- that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge –or anybody else –what we're up to."

Fred was the first to grab the parchment, and as he eagerly signed, I thought about Hermione's strange actions moments ago. She seemed like a kid caught with their hand in the biscuit tin. The paper must have been bewitched. Her statement earlier must have been a warning. Good thing Mr. Crepsley was already here. If I would have had to tell him, the result could have been disastrous. I glanced at him when the parchment reached me. He gave a quick nod, and went back to sipping his ale. I signed my name and handed the sheet to Zacharias, who apparently did not want to sign.

"Er…" he began; looking at parchment like it was poisonous. "Well… I'm sure Ernie will tell me when the meeting is."

He looked to Ernie for confirmation, but Ernie looked at him doubtfully.

"I –well, we are prefects," Ernie burst out. "And if this list was found… well, I mean to say … you said it yourself, if Umbridge finds out…"

"You just said this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," Harry reminded him.

"I –yes" he said, abashedly. "Yes, I do believe that, it's just…"

"Ernie, do you really think that I'd leave that list lying around?" Hermione said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"No, no, of course not," he said, looking less anxious. "I –yes of course I'll sign.

After everyone had signed, Fred said, "Well, times ticking on. George, Lee, and I have got items of a sensitive nature to purchase, we'll be seeing you all later."

His statement seemed to be a dismissal. Everyone slowly filed out, in groups of twos and threes. I waited until only the trio was left, and made my way out of the smelly pub. I walked into an alley and waited for Mr. Crepsley. A few minutes later, the vampire walked into the small alley, unwinding the makeshift scarf from his head.

"I suggest you keep a close eye on that Potter boy," he said, skipping over greetings. "He seems to be the leader of the teens you were meeting with."

"I am," I said. "But we aren't in the same house, so I don't see him too often. The set of twins I was sitting near are close to him, and they have taken a liking to me."

"That is good news," he said, scratching his scar thoughtfully. "But, have you earned their trust yet?"

"I'm getting there," I said impatiently. "You can't form close bonds in a month. I've got until the end of the school year, mind you."

"I have not forgotten," Mr. Crepsley replied, looking insulted at the thought of me even hinting at him forgetting the plan. "Getting out of this school as fast as possible is also part of the plan. It is dangerous to linger here. If the wizards discovered a vampire under their roof, they would panic."

"I know, I know…"I said, having heard the lecture many times. "At the rate I'm going, I could get into their base by Christmas!" I joked.

"That would involve much luck," Mr. Crepsley said, running his hand through his bright hair.

"Good thing I've got the luck of the vampires," I said, nudging him with my elbow.

"Hmmph," was his only reply.

"I got you some more blood pops!" I said, remembering my trip to Honeydukes.

"That is kind of you," he said, taking the handful of suckers I offered him. "Thank you."

Well… That conversation didn't last long, so I switched the subject

"When you got your message from the mountain, did you hear any news about Harkat?"

"Yes," he said, looking at me with serious eyes. "I have heard that they may even nominate him to be a Prince. Imagine! A little person as a Vampire Prince! Ridiculous."

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully. "I guess it kinda does make sense. He _was _a vampire before he died."

"Yes," Mr. Crepsley agreed. "And he has taken charge of many of your duties since you left."

"Really?" I asked, feeling sorry for Harkat –I had been pushed to my limits when working in the mountain.

"Yes. With his dedication to the clan, his role in the war, and his history as a prince nominee, he has become a popular subject among vampires. But, his investiture will not take place for many years –long after the War of Scars ends."

"Wow," I said, surprised. "I didn't know people liked Harkat that much. I guess a lot can change in a month."

"Indeed," he said. "Great changes often occur quickly, leaving one dazed by the sudden turn of events."

"I should know," I said, thinking back to that one fateful night eighteen years ago.

"Yes," Mr. Crepsley said, looking down a little. "It is nearly sundown. You should head back to your school."

"Alright," I said, downcast. "I'll see you in December. "

He didn't respond, so I decided to leave.

"Luck!" I said, running out of the alley.

I could have sworn I heard him softly say, "Luck, Darren," but it might have been my imagination.

I ran to the carriages that were lined up near the gate, with the setting sun's light casting my world into a red blur.

* * *

**This one wasn't as long as I would have liked, but you can only drag out a chapter**_** so**_** much. I think the next one can be longer –it doesn't have a set ending time.**

**So, who do you think Darren should use the love potion on? Leave suggestions in the comments. I don't think Umbridge should be the one who drinks it; she's bound to check her drinks after the canary incident… **


	12. An Army Worth Being In

**I was on the Hufflepuff wiki, seeing which were in the D.A., when I found out that Neville married Hannah Abbot! O: **

**This week's shout outs go to: Cat Attack 411! Kanathia! SeaWeedBrainVon! Thanks for your reviews!**

* * *

Chapter 12:

"An Army Worth Being In "

The week after the Hogsmeade meeting went pretty smooth. I hadn't used my love potion yet, but I was planning to do so_ very_ soon. It took a few days for me to decide who I would use the potion on, and then another to get my victims' hair. Tonight was the first scheduled meeting for the Defense Group. I was going to pull my prank at dinner, but then Ernie told me the meetings time and place. Meanwhile, I was exploring the castles vegetable garden. Usually I made my explorations at night, but the garden was close to the Forbidden Forest.

During the day, the forest was calm and only slightly dangerous. But at night, nocturnal monsters prowled the forests' depths. Lee had sworn he heard a werewolf howl once, and I believed him. I doubted they were the full moon-driven creatures of myth, but there may have been a few of the wolfman's relatives residing in those woods.

I was examining a pumpkin when I heard a loud, piercing shriek coming from the forest. I strained my ears, trying to discern what made the noise. I heard a stomping noise, similar to hooves. I wondered if it was another one of the strange horses I saw pulling the carriages, so I headed into the woods. I followed the occasional shrieks and stomps until I made it to a clearing.

It was dead silent.

I listened carefully, fearing attack, when I heard a creaking sound. Less than a second later, I heard a whizzing sound. I sank to the ground, making full use of my vampiric speed. I didn't need to though; the person who fired the arrow had aimed purposely high.

"What are you doing in our woods, human?" a deep, gravelly voice asked.

I stood up when I heard the word, 'human.' Whoever the speaker was, he was not human. If he was a vampire, I could set him straight easily. If not...

"Who are you?" I asked and ducked, as another arrow flew at my head, lower this time.

"Humans are not welcome in these woods," he replied. "But, my name is Magorian."

"You keep mentioning the word human," I began, trying to reason with the voice. "So that must mean you are not. Will you tell me what you are?

"

I figure stepped out from the trees and my eyes widened in surprise. Magorian definitely wasn't human. From the waist up, he was a normal, bronze skinned human –below the waist stood the body of a palomino stallion. Across his back was a game bag, which must have held the screeching creature I heard earlier.

"I am Magorian, one of the elders of the centaurs in this forest," he said, arrow knocked in his bow.

"I am Darren Shan," I said, giving a short bow, "Prince of the Vampire clan."

He seemed surprised when I said this. I guess he didn't see many vampires around here.

"You are a vampire?" he asked, lowering his bow. "And a prince?"

"Yes," I said, showing him the customary scars on my fingers.

"What are you doing in these woods?" he asked. "And why are you out during daytime?"

"I am on official business at Hogwarts," I said. "And I am only half vampire."

"You are half vampire, and a child, but yet you are a prince?"

"I was blooded young and became a prince under unusual circumstances."

"I see," he said, looking thoughtful. "In that case, you are welcome here. I will alert the rest of my kin to your presence. Have a good day sire."

He disappeared into the forest, blending in to the tall trees. I decided that I had explored enough for one afternoon, so I head back to the castle. It was late afternoon. The sun was hanging in the west, its reflection dancing across the lake. Dinner would be starting soon, so I headed to my dorm. I sat down on my four-poster and waited for the bell that announced dinner. I was absentmindedly chewing on my nails (they had gotten a little long) when Austin flew through the window. He landed on my knee and screeched softly. I chuckled and scratched the small bat behind the ears. I moved him to my shoulder and pulled out a piece of dried mango from his bag of treats. I gave him the fruit and watched him nibble at it.

Four snacks later, the bell rang, signaling the start of dinner. I put Austin in his cage, much to his displeasure, and made my way to the great hall. I sat by Ernie and pilled my plate high with food. I dug in, while Ernie took his time, cutting each piece of food into bite sized morsels. We waited for most of the hall to start clearing out before we left. Ernie and I headed to a set of stairs.

"We should take a roundabout path to this meeting room," I suggested. "Umbridge must know something's up. That new decree proves it."

"I agree," said the ever pompous Ernie.

Umbridge had made a new decree, signed by the minister, which disbanded all group meetings. It was signed only days after the meeting in Hogsmeade, and I highly doubt it was a coincidence. We took several twist and turns –and even a few of the secret passages I had found! Eventually we made our way to an ordinary looking door. We looked at each other skeptically; this didn't seem to be a place to hold a top secret meeting. I opened the door hesitantly and stepped inside.

I blinked in surprise at the large room. It had shelves of books along the walls, most about defensive spells. Around the room sat small red cushions, which were presumably for sitting on. Strange looking magical objects were littered on the tables, which were haphazardly placed around the room. A few groups of people were scattered around the room, admiring Harry's choice of practice room. We weren't the last ones to arrive, but most of the group was already there. Ernie and I joined Justin and a few more Hufflepuffs, who were eagerly discussing the room.

"Apparently, it's called the Room of Requirement," said Hannah Abbot excitedly. "It changes itself to fit the needs of those who seek it."

"Well I hope that Potter thought to make this room Umbridge proof," said Zacharias Smith haughtily.

"I'm sure they thou–"began Ernie, but he was cut off by a loud clicking noise.

We turned to the source of the noise and saw Harry, who had just locked the door. The room fell silent as Harry turned to face us. He seemed a bit nervous, but excited.

"Well," he began. "This is the place we've found for practices, and you've –er– obviously found it okay–"

"It's fantastic," said Cho, a Ravenclaw girl that Harry fancied.

"It's bizzare," said Fred, frowning at the room. "We once hid from Filch in here, remember, George? But it was just a broom cupboard then…"

"Hey, Harry, what's this stuff?" asked Dean Thomas, Harry's fellow Gryffindor.

I had been wondering too, so I was listening closely when Harry said, "Dark Detectors. Basically they all show when Dark wizards or enemies are around, but you don't want to rely on them too much, they can be fooled…" he trailed off, looking into a cracked mirror.

"Well I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first," he said, turning to face us again. "and –er–" *hand raise from Hermione* "What Hermione?"

"I think we ought to elect a leader," she said.

"Harry's leader," said Cho immediately, glaring at Hermione.

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly," she said, unaffected by the look. "So – everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader"

The voting was unanimous. Everyone's hand shot into the air, besides Zacharias, who merely put his hand slightly up in a halfhearted manner.

"Er –right thanks," said a blushing Harry, only to be interrupted by Hermione again. "And – _what_ Hermione?

"I also think we ought to have a name," she said happily, hand still in the air. "It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?"

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" asked a Gryffindor.

"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons Group?" suggested Fred.

"I was thinking," Hermione said with a frown at Fred, "more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it outside meetings."

"The Defense Association," said Cho. "The D.A. for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?"

"Yeah the D.A.'s good," remarked Ginny. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear isn't it?

A few people laughed at this, including myself.

"All in favor of the D.A." said Hermione, counting the number of raised hands. "That's a majority –motion passed!"

She pinned the paper that we had signed our names on to the wall and wrote, DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY across the top of it.

"Right," said Harry. "Shall we get to practicing then? I was thinking, the first thing we should do is _Expelliarmus_, you know, the Disarming Charm. I know it's pretty basic, but I've found it really useful–"

"Oh please," Zacharias said, rolling his eyes a bit. "I don't think _Expelliarmus _is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?"

"I've used against him," Harry said solemnly. "It saved my life last June."

Smith's mouth gaped stupidly. The room had gone silent again.

"But if you think it's beneath you, you can leave," he said finally.

Nobody moved. My mind was drawn back to my first visit to the Cirque. The situation reminded me of when the whole crowd stayed put, despite Mr. Tall's warnings.

"Okay," said a calmer sounding Harry. ""I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice."

I partnered with Ernie. It seemed that everybody had a partner, except for Neville Longbottom. Harry told him that he would be his partner.

"Right –on the count of three, then –one –two –three –"

The room was suddenly filled with yells and flying wands. My faster reflexes allowed me to disarm Ernie before he knew what hit him. As he retrieved his wand, I looked around at the other's progress. Some had succeeded in disarming, but many had not. Some could only ruffle the hair on their opponents head. Ernie attempted to disarm me while I was distracted. If he had attempted the spell on a human, their wand would have flown out of their hands. Since I was a half vampire, I was somewhat immune to spells, but the force of the spell still sent me flying backwards a few feet. Ernie seemed downcast, so I dropped my wand on purpose. Harry had just passed me, and smiled knowingly. After a while, Harry yelled for us to stop. Hardly anyone heard him, so most of the students continued to cast spells. Harry found a whistle somewhere, and blew on it hard. Everyone else lowered their wands.

"That wasn't bad," he said, "but there's definite room for improvement. Let's try again…"

We started practicing again. Harry went around, instructing and complimenting as needed. He had just passed Ernie, who had attempted to disarm me again.

"You're not swishing your wand fast enough," he told the boy, pulling out his own and gesturing to me. "_Expelliarmus!_"

Once again, I was thrown back. A little farther this time, but my wand remained firmly in my hand. Harry blinked in surprise before heading to the next pair. We continued practicing, occasionally rotating partners for a while longer, until Harry's whistle sounded again.

"Well, that was pretty good," Harry said encouragingly," but we've overrun, we'd better leave it here. Same time, same place next week?"

"Sooner!" yelled Dean Thomas.

The Gryffindor Quidditch captain disagreed, saying, "The Quidditch season's about to start, we need team practices too!"

"Let's say next Wednesday night, then," Harry suggested, "and we can decide on additional meetings then… Come on, we'd better get going…"

He pulled out a grubby piece of parchment from his robes. It seemed to be a sort of magical map, because he used to tell us when it was safe to leave. We made it to the Hufflepuff basement safely, no Filch or Mrs. Norris in sight.

Before we fell asleep, Justin turned to me and said, "Harry's a great teacher, isn't he?"

"Yeah," I mumbled to him, but he was already fast asleep.

* * *

I woke up early, which seemed to be a habit for most Hufflepuffs. When your room is so sunny and bright, it's hard _not_ to wake up early. I went through my normal morning routine in a hurry; I was excited that morning. I stuck the two vials of pink potion into my sleeve and made my way to the Great Hall. After I ate a hurried breakfast, I managed to dump each potion into their respective victim's glasses.

I was torn between revenge and humor with this prank; I still owed Fred and George payback for the human kettle incident, but I needed to make them laugh too. So I separated the potion into two different vials, each with a different hair. Each held a twelve hour dose of pure infatuation. One went into George's drink, the other into Professor McGonagall's. The potion took an hour to show results, so I'd have to wait to see if it worked.

* * *

I had double Transfiguration, which is why I planned my attack for today. I knew the twins also had Transfiguration today; Fred had been complaining about his essay that was due. So I made my way to the class, barely containing my laughter. Sure enough, about halfway through the lesson, a loud knock rang through the room. I stopped transfiguring my toad and looked at the door. Professor McGonagall seemed surprised, but she answered the door anyway.

"Minerva," rang the voice of Severus Snape, "I think I love you."

"E-Excuse me Severus?" said a blushing McGonagall.

"I can't believe I didn't realize it before," Snape said, gazing at the gaping Professor. "Your thin lips, those stunning green eyes, and those wonderful–"

He was cut off by the stunned Professor.

"Severus, what do you mean by this?" she said, still looking shocked. "I am old enough to be your mother."

"Age is just a number, my love!" he argued back.

Professor McGonagall seemed to have just remembered her class' existence.

She turned to us, blushing, and said, "Excuse me for a minute; I need to have a word with Severus."

With that, she walked away, leaving behind a bewildered class. A few minutes after she left, whispers began, along with a few nervous laughs. I leaned back in my chair and smiled.

The potion worked.

* * *

It was lunch time, and I decided to sit with the lions today. I took a seat across from George, who was staring wearily at Fred. Fred meanwhile, was gazing a George like he was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen –which in Fred's mind, he probably was.

"Hey, Darren," George said, glancing at me.

"Why are you talking to him?" Fred said angrily. "Do you think he's better than me?"

"No, no," said George, looking scared. "Not at all."

"How's it going Fred," I asked, keeping a straight face.

"Wonderful," he said dreamily. "I think I'm in love."

"With whom, may I ask?" I said innocently.

"With who?" he said indignantly. "Only the most beautiful man on earth. His hair gleams like fire, and his eyes are like two vast ocea–"

"Oh," I said interrupting him. "You mean him?"

I pointed to Ron, who was talking to Dean.

"No!" Fred said, aghast. "_Him!_ *points at George* His freckles are like stars in the night sky. His nose is so long and straight. It's almost like a–"

"Fred," said George wearily. "Please tell me you are taking the mickey."

"I would never kid about love."

I couldn't help it – I laughed.

* * *

**Woo. McSnape and Forge! I decided to split the love up. Twelve hours seems like enough punishment for them, don't ya think? Hope****you liked it!**

**-Rebarbative **


	13. Winter Begins

**Hello! I might not have an update for next week, because I am going out of town. I don't know if I'll have wifi or not, but I will update as soon as I get back!**

**The reviewers for last week were, Kanathia! Cat Attack 411! Ran Okami-Gun! Crashing Planes! Thanks for reviewing! :D**

* * *

Chapter 13:

"Winter Begins"

Weeks began to pass quickly with the D.A. added to my life. Being able to act like a rebellious teenager was fun, since I never had a real chance to live the life of a teenager. Meetings were scattered, but Hermione created a way for us to communicate better. She charmed a set of Galleons to show us the dates of the next meetings. It was a genius idea, one that could come in handy. If I learned this charm, it could make communicating with the generals much easier. Halloween at Hogwarts was interesting. The car-sized pumpkins I had seen earlier that month had grown into house-sized monsters. Fred and George still hadn't paid me back for the love potion, so I was very cautious whenever I was eating.

October faded into November. The twins invited me to stay with them for the Holidays, and I agreed. I sent a message with Austin, full of hidden meanings, to Mr. Crepsley. He would have to find a person to read it to him since he couldn't read it himself. This morning was the day of the first Quidditch match. It was the Gryffindor's vs. the Slytherins, which was bound to be a heated match. I was making my way to the pitch, layered with thick shirts and jacket. I _could _have embraced the coldness with only a simple shirt and pants, but I was trying to keep a low profile.

I took a seat in the stands, next to Hermione and Luna Lovegood. Luna was sporting a life-sized lion head hat, which I heard making a life-sized roar earlier. I watched as the two teams shook hands and mounted their brooms. Madam Hooch, the referee, blew loudly on her whistle, signaling the start of the game. An assortment of balls was released. I still didn't know much about the game –I didn't want to raise suspicions by seeming completely ignorant on the subject. Lee Jordan was running the commentary on this match, speaking into an old fashioned speaker.

"And it's Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me–"

"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

"Just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit off interest –and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's –ouch– been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe… Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and– nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of the Gryffindor reverse passes to Alica Spinnet and Spinnet's away… She dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger –close call, Alicia– and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?"

I had noticed the singing earlier, but paid no mind to it. Now, as Lee stopped speaking, I could hear the song clearly. It went something like this:

_Weasley cannot save a thing,_

_He cannot block a single ring,_

_That's why Slytherins all sing:_

_Weasley is our King._

_Weasley was born in a bin_

_He always lets the Quaffle in_

_Weasley will make sure we win_

_Weasley is our King._

_Weasley is our King,_

_Weasley is our King,_

_He always lets the Quaffle in_

_Weasley is our King._

The song must have been aimed at Ron, because he had turned a strange shade of green.

Hermione had buried her face into her hands and was now saying, "Oh no.. no… This can't be happening.."

Luna looked outraged, and made her lion hat start hissing wildly. The game continued, with the singing growing louder, making it harder and harder to understand Lee. Gryffindor managed to score –my ears were still ringing from Luna's hat's roar. The game finished when Harry caught the small, golden ball I had seen flying around the stands. Before he could make it to the ground, a black ball hit him in the back of the head. The crowd around me began booing and throwing insults at the Slytherin who had hit the ball at Harry. Harry stood back up a few seconds later and went to shake hands with the other team. A fight broke out during the hand shaking. Harry had attacked Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin who he commonly cursed. George joined in shortly. Their fight stopped about a minute later, when Madame Hooch froze them with the Impediment Jinx. They marched off the field, and headed back to the castle for their punishment.

"They just got their Quidditch privileges back for Merlin's sake!" groaned Hermione. "Why jeopardize it by fighting _Malfoy_ of all people. Honestly. Let's hope Professor McGonagall doesn't give them detention –or worse."

"Relax, Hermione," I told her. "Detention with McGonagall can't be as bad as with Umbridge. And Harry's been in detention with her _loads_ of times."

"But, _still_…" she whined.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," said the dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood.

* * *

It was later that night, in the Gryffindor common room. Originally, there was to be a celebration. But, once Harry and the twins arrived, no one felt like celebrating. What was a victory worth if you had to sacrifice three players? Harry, Fred, and George had been given a lifetime ban on Quidditch. I was downing some butterbeer with Fred and George, when I noticed the Golden trio suddenly vanish.

"It was nice chatting with you boys," I told them hastily. "But I have to finish my essay for Snape or he'll kill me."

They groaned farewells as I ran out the door, following the trio. I took to the ceiling so they wouldn't see me tracing them. They walked out of the school and made their way to the abandoned hut near the forest –except it didn't quite look abandoned anymore. Smoke was billowing out of the small chimney, and I could see the shadows moving behind the curtains. I waited till they were inside the cabin to sneak along the edge of the forest. I made my way up a large tree and sat on one of the thicker branches, listening.

"An' then we reached the place, an' we started trekkin' up through the mountains, lookin' fer signs of 'em. We had to lay off magic once we got near them. Partly 'cause they don' like wizards…"

_Looking for things in the mountains?_ I asked myself._ Don't like wizards? Could Dumbledore be looking for vampires? _I listened closely.

"Said it was odds on he'd sent a messenger off ter them already. Told us ter be careful of drawin' attention to ourselves as we got nearer in case there was Death Eaters around."

"Go on," said Harry, when the man paused.

"Found 'em," the man continued. "Went over a ridge one nigh' an' there they was, spread ou' underneath us. Little fires burnin' below an' huge shadows… It was like watchin' bits o' the mountain movin'."

"How big are they?" Ron asked quietly.

"Bout twenty feet," the man said casually. "Some o' the bigger ones mighta bin twenty-five."

_Twenty-five feet? What on earth are they talking about? Giants?_

I found out that they _were_ talking about giants. Hagrid (Ron called the man that at one point) had been sent on a mission to get the giants on Dumbledore's side. I gathered from his story that his mother was a giant. I wondered how big this Hagrid was. I was pondering this when I saw Umbridge inspecting the foot prints leading from the castle. I looked down at my own set of prints and jumped to the next tree. The trio was still conversing with Hagrid, unaware of Umbridge's presence. So I let out a deep howl, catching all five humans' attention. Hagrid looked out the window, blocking out the light. He spotted Umbridge and warned the trio. There was scuttling and the sound of glass breaking, before the cabin grew silent. There was a knock a moment later, followed by a dog's loud barking. I couldn't hear Hagrid and Umbridge's conversation over the noise the dog was making. I decided to head back to the castle, before Umbridge could attempt to examine the fourth set of footsteps.

* * *

**Third Person Point of View.**

_His body felt smooth, powerful, and flexible. He was gliding under a large bush, extremely irritated. He had a charm for warmth placed upon him, but that did not stop the bitter cold from seeping into his thick, unprotected skin. The objects around him shimmered, almost seeming to glow… He slithered through the bushes, looking for something... no… __**someone**__. He was creeping near a large stone, just the right size for sitting. The stone seemed unoccupied at first… but no… there was someone sitting on the rock, his head tilting forward, his outline gleaming in the dark night._

_Harry's tongue flickered out of his mouth, tasting the air… The man was alive but sleeping softly… the vibrations of his snores barely reaching him through the snow. The man was not familiar… so Harry snuck forward… The man stirred… a silvery cloak fell to his feet… his outline grew more prominent as he stood to his feet and pulled a wand from his belt. Harry reared back and struck, once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deep into the man's flesh, feeling the man's ribs splinter beneath his jaws… The man yelled in pain… but fell silent as he slumped forward, into the snow… his blood staining the pure white crystals, sending steam into the crisp air._

* * *

**Normal Point of View**

I met Hagrid a few days later. He was the COMC teacher, and had returned from 'temporary leave.' I spent my second Hogsmeade trip with Mr. Crepsley. I convinced him to go to the Three Broomsticks with me, and we had some hot chocolate together. He was reluctant to try the sweet drink, but he loved it after a few sips. We had our last D.A meeting before the Holidays. Harry said that when we got back, we could start conjuring Patronuses!

It was the night before I left for the holidays with the Weasley Twins. I was exploring the castle, when I saw Neville Longbottom running through the corridor I was in.

"NEVILLE!" I screamed, trying to catch his attention.

He stopped and turned to face me.

"Neville, what's wrong?" I asked. "Why are you running around at this hour?"

"Harry is terribly ill!" he told me, looking worried. "I've gone to fetch Professor McGonagall."

"I'll come with you," I told him quickly.

We ran to Professor McGonagall's room and knocked on her door. She seemed surprised to see two students this late at night, but a determined look came upon her face when Neville explained what was wrong. She followed us back to the Gryffindor Common room. She didn't question why I was there –I guess she was too worried about her student to care.

"Over here, Professor…" he said once we had reached Harry's dormitory.

She hurried to Harry's bedside, her tartan dressing gown billowing behind her.

"What is it, Potter? Where does it hurt?"

"It's Ron's dad!" he said, sitting up. "He's been attacked by a snake and it's serious, I saw it happen."

"What do you mean, you saw it happen?" she said, eyebrows contracting.

"I don't know… I was asleep and then I was there…"

"You mean, you dreamed this?"

"No!" he said angrily. "I was having a dream about something completely different, something stupid… and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didn't imagine it, Mr. Weasley was asleep on a rock and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was a load of blood, he collapsed, someone's got to find out where he is…"

She looked at him, horrified, through lopsided glasses.

"I'm not lying and I'm not mad!" he said, voice rising. "I tell you, I saw it happen!"

"I believe you Potter," she said curtly. "Put on your dressing gown –we're going to see the headmaster."

* * *

Harry, the Weasleys, Professor McGonagall, and I were gathered in Dumbledore's office. Harry had gone to explain the situation to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore had sent Professor McGonagall back to fetch us. I came along because I was staying with the Weasleys for Christmas break.

"Harry –what's going on?" asked Ginny, looking scared. "Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad hurt–"

"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore explained. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injures. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more conveinient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

"How're we going?" asked a shaken Fred. "Floo powder?"

"No," said Dumbledore, "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey." He gestured to an old tea kettle. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back… I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you–"

There was a burst of flame in the middle of the office, which left behind a single golden feather, which drifted to the floor.

"It is Fawkes's warning," said Dumbledore, catching the feather. "She must know you're out of your beds… Minerva, go and head her off –tell her any story–"

"He says he'll be delighted," droned a portrait's occupant, who had just appeared. "My great-great grandson has always had odd taste in houseguest…"

"Come here, then," Dumbledore said to us. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us…"

We gathered around his desk.

"You have all used a Portkey before?" he asked.

I nodded too, not wanting to seem suspicious. They all touched a part of the kettle, so I grabbed the spout.

"Good. On the count of three then… one… two… _three_…"

There was a jerk from somewhere behind my belly button, and my feet left the ground. We were spinning at a sickening speed, the kettle dragging us forward.

And then we stopped.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings.

* * *

**Hope y'all liked it!**


	14. Grimmauld Place

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**Thanks to Cat Attack 411 and Ran Okami-Gun for reviewing!**

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Chapter 14:

"Grimmauld Place"

I was examining a dim fire that was burning inside of a boiler, when I heard someone speaking.

"Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father's dying…?" said a croaky, trembling voice.

"OUT!" yelled a second voice, this one the voice of a man.

I looked to the speakers, still trying to steady myself. The humans were plucking themselves from the ground, shaking their heads dizzily. I found the second voice, an unshaven man with scraggly black hair, who was helping Ginny up from the ground. The first voice seemed to have left the room at the man's prompting.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking at each of us, his eyes pausing on me for a moment. "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured–"

"Ask Harry," said Fred.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," George added.

"It was–"Harry said nervously. "I had a –a kind of –vision…"

* * *

Harry continued sputtering out his story of visions and snakes. His dreams reminded me of Harkat's nightmares of the future world, except Harry's visions were of the present. When he finished, the Weasleys simply stared at him, their faces white with horror. I had seen worse, so Harry's tale didn't even make me blink.

"Is Mum here?" Fred asked the man.

"She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet," the man replied. "The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now."

"We've got to go to St. Mungo's," Ginny said urgently. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything–?"

"Hang on," said the man named Sirius, "you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's!"

"Course we can go to St. Mungo's if we want," argued Fred. "He's our dad!"

"And how are you going to explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"

"What does that matter?" said George angrily.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!" Sirius shouted back. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?"

Ginny responded with, "Somebody could have told us… We could of heard it somewhere other than Harry.

"Like who?" Sirius responded impatiently. "Listen, your dad's been injured while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's–"

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" Fred shouted.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" added George.

"Wait," I said, interrupting the shout-fest. "Can somebody _please _explain to me what's going on? What is this Order you lot keep mentioning?"

Fred looked at me and seemed to calm a bit.

"Sorry Darren…" he said abashedly. "I forgot you don't know where we are, what's going on…"

"The Order of the Phoenix," Sirius explained, "is a top secret group of witches and wizards against Voldemort. This house –Grimmauld Place- is base. We brought you all here, because it is one of the safest places you could be right now."

"Thanks," I said, a bit relieved.

"No problem," said Sirius. "Come on, let's all… let's all have a drink while we're waiting. _Accio Butterbeer."_

Seven bottles flew from a door adjacent to the kitchen. They each skidded to stop in front of a different person. We all drank the sweet drink. The room was silent, except for the low crackling of the fire and the sloshing of the butterbeers being placed upon the table. The silence was broken as a burst of fire appeared in midair. Cries of shock flew up as a roll of parchment and a feather fell onto the table.

"Fawkes!" Sirius shouted, as he snatched up the parchment and unrolled it. "That's not Dumbledore's writing –it must be a message form your mother –here–"

He gave the letter to George, who read the message aloud, "_Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum"_

"Still alive…" George said slowly. "But that makes it sound…"

He left his sentence unfinished, but we all knew the ending. If he was in a bad enough condition to be considered 'still alive'… that meant he could die at any moment… We sat through that night in silence, the candle on the table flickering ominously. Sirius suggested that we go to bed, but no one moved. Fred had slumped forward, leaning on the table. George was staring blankly at the candle, hardly blinking. Ginny curled up in her chair, staring at the fire with glazed eyes. Ron held his head with his hands, breathing deeply. Sirius, Harry, and I sat wide awake, glancing at each other every so often. We waited through the night, whether for good news or bad, we weren't sure.

* * *

Around five in the morning, a woman burst through the doors. Judging by her red hair and tired eyes, she must be the Weasley children's mother. The twins and Harry started to rise from their chairs, but froze when they saw her tired smile.

"He's going to be all right," she said, in a weak but warm voice. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work."

There were a few shaky laughs, and Ginny ran to hug her mother.

"Breakfast!" said Sirius loudly. "Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!"

Who –or what- ever Kreacher was, did not come.

"Oh forget it, then," he muttered. He counted the people at the table and said, "So it's breakfast for –let's see –eight… Bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast–"

Harry stood up to help Sirius. I just lay my head on the table, glad that Mr. Weasley was okay –even though I hadn't met him yet. We had a large breakfast, composed of a wide selection of food. We slept the rest of the morning. I shared a room with the twins, on a dusty old cot they pulled from another room. I woke and found my Hogwarts' trunk at the foot of my bed. Austin's cage was on the dresser, the little bat zooming around his cage. I stood up and opened his cage. He flew gratefully onto my shoulder and let out a screech. The noise woke the twins, who sat up quickly.

"Is it time to go to Mungo's yet?" Fred asked sleepily.

"I think so," I told him. "I heard people moving around earlier."

"Let's get dressed and check it out," suggested George.

We slipped out of our robes and into regular clothes. I wore the outfit I had brought after going through the purge. We made our way into the kitchen, where two new people were waiting for us. They introduced themselves as Mad-eye Moody and Tonks. They were members of the Order and were going to escort us to London. We took the underground to an old fashioned looking department store. A sign with peeling paint labeled the store as, _Purge and Dowse Ltd_. The stores dusty windows sported ugly dolls, with old fashioned clothing and a sign that said: CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT.

"Right," said Tonks, walking to a window with a raggedy looking doll, whose eyelashes were falling off. "Everybody ready?"

We nodded and she told the dummy, "Wotcher… We're here to see Arthur Weasley.

I was slightly confused. Why on earth are we standing in front of a shabby department store, and why was Tonks talking to a _doll?_ How on earth did she expect it to hear her anyways? The glass on the window had to be half an inch thick. So I was slightly surprised to see the dummy nod and beckon to us. Tonks seized the people nearest to her and stepped through the glass, vanishing. I shouldn't have been surprised. It was just like the platform to get on the school train. I stepped through with Harry and Mad-eye, and arrived in a crowded room. There were scores of wizards sitting on rickety wooden chairs, some of them sporting strange ailments. One witch had a tea-pot spout for a mouth, and would whistle in reply to the questions those around her asked.

"Over here!" called Mrs. Weasley, yelling over the din. We waited in a line, behind a man who was holding his daughter by the ankles, trying to keep her from flying away on her newly sprouted wings. We reached the counter and Mrs. Weasley stepped forward, speaking to the witch manning the desk.

"Hello," she said. "My husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward this morning, could you tell us–?"

"Arthur Weasley?" the lady interrupted, scanning a list on her desk. "Yes, first floor, second door on the right. Dai Llewellyn ward."

"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley told the lady and turned to us. "Come on, you lot."

We followed her through a set of doors into a long corridor, which was lined with portraits. We climbed a flight of stairs, entering the ward for 'Creature-Induced injuries.'

When we reached Mr. Weasley's room, Tonks said, "We'll wait outside Molly. Arthur won't want too many visitors at once… It ought to be just the family first."

Mad-eye growled his agreement and all the non-Weasleys stepped back.

"Don't be silly, Harry," Mrs. Weasley told Harry when she saw him step back, "Arthur wants to thank you…"

He followed her into the room, leaving me with the two adults.

"So, boy," growled Moody. "What's your story?"

"Well," I told him. "Fred and George are close friends of mine, so they invited me to stay for the holidays. I saw Neville running in the halls last night, so I helped him find Professor McGonagall. Dumbledore brought me to his office when he decided to send the Weasleys and Harry to Grimmauld Place."

"So," he said, both eyes on me. "What were you doing outside of bed?"

"Well… um…" I spluttered out. "I like to… explore the castle. Knowing short-cuts comes in handy when you're trying to get to class…"

"Mmm…" he grumbled, ending the conversation.

We waited in silence for several minutes. Then George stuck his head out the door and looked at me.

"Hey Darren," he said. "Dad says he wants to meet you…"

I followed him into the ward, glancing at the various patients. One of them seemed normal, but the other was covered in bandages, and was a light shade of green. Propped up on a set of pillows was the orange haired Mr. Weasley.

"Ah," he said, looking at me. "You must be Darren."

He held out a hand, which I shook enthusiastically.

"Nice firm grip you got there," he said, flexing his fingers.

"Oh… sorry…" I replied lamely.

"That's alright," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "So… Fred and George told me you're a bit of a prankster…"

* * *

We had a short conversation, before Mrs. Weasley shooed us out of the room. The other members of the Order stepped into the room as we left. Fred was searching his pockets, as if he had lost something.

"Looking for these?" George said, holding out a tangled, flesh colored mess of string.

"You read my mind," Fred grinned.

They untangled the string and handed each of us an ear with a cable attached to it. These must be the Extendable Ears they had told me about. I put the smaller bit into my ear, and placed the ear shaped microphone near the door and it wiggled its way under it.

"… they searched the whole area but they couldn't find the snake anywhere, it just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur. But why would You-Know-Who set a snake patrolling…"

"Shh, Tonks," urged Mrs. Weasley.

"I reckon he sent it because it could see under cloaks," said Moody, followed by mummers of agreement.

"You know," said Mrs. Weasley uneasily. "Dumbledore seems to almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this…"

"Yeah, well," replied Moody, "there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that."

"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning," Mrs. Weasley whispered.

"Course he's worried," Moody growled. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake… Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what this means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him, there might be future attacks like–"

I pulled my Extendable Ear out, when I saw that Harry was looking distressed. We spent the rest of our visit in silence, the Weasley children taking uneasy glances at Harry. We returned to headquarters and fell asleep, able to rest easy after seeing Mr. Weasley. Harry seemed to be avoiding us, skulking upstairs and refusing meals. Ginny eventually confronted him and convinced him he wasn't possessed, which cheered him up immensely. We spent the next few days putting up Christmas decorations and singing merrily with Sirius.

* * *

On Christmas morning, Fred and George woke me with a loud cry of, "PRESENTS!"

I looked to the foot of my bed, where a small pile was waiting for me. I hadn't celebrated Christmas in years –much less gotten presents! Mrs. Weasley had knitted me a sweater and given me a small bag of brightly colored taffy. Hermione had given me a new set of journals –I had mentioned them off-handedly to her once. The twins had gotten me a set off Filibusters Fireworks. Harry had gotten me a book on defensive spells. There was one present that stood out to me. It was a long, thin package, with a small note taped to it. Written in_ very_ scraggly hand writing was:

_Merry Christmas_

_-Larten Crepsley_

I unwrapped the gift quickly, unveiling a long mahogany handle. Scrawled in golden letters on the handle, were the words, _Nimbus 2005. _The broomstick looked expensive, and the gift made me want to cry. Mr. Crepsley had always considered Christmas a 'silly human tradition.' The fact that he went out of his way to buy me a gift and write a note (even if it was short) made me miss my mentor deeply.

"Whoa," said George, who had just entered the room. "Who sent you the broomstick?"

"My father," I responded, pulling on the deep blue sweater.

"That color looks nice on you," said Fred, entering the room. "Really brings out your eyes."

"Stuff it," I told him, gathering the wrappers from the top of my bed.

"I wouldn't go downstairs just yet," George warned. "Mum's in tears. Our git of a brother sent back the jumper she made him…"

"Ouch," I said. "Let's go see the others, I want to thank them. By the way; Merry Christmas. Thanks for the fireworks."

"No problem mate. Thanks for the new equipment. We needed it to start working on those new fireworks we want to make. And Merry Christmas."

We went into the other's rooms and warned them of Mrs. Weasley's mood. Harry thanked me for the bag of edible snitches I got him and Hermione was currently flickering through the book on magical creatures I had gotten her. Ron was unwrapping his chocolate frogs, searching for any rare cards he might have hidden in the small pile. We messed around a bit before going downstairs for lunch. Mrs. Weasley had outdone herself –the food was incredible! After our meal, we visited St. Mungo's. The trip was pretty uneventful –except for when we saw an ex-DADA teacher, who insisted on signing my arm.

I lay in my bed that night, examining my gifts. I reached for the bag of taffy Mrs. Weasley had gotten me and pulled out one of the brightly colored treats. It was unusual looking –striped with black and orange– but it tasted amazing. I put the rest of the bag away and went to bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

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**Yay Christmas! Hope you liked this chapter!**


	15. Stripes

**Yay, new chapter! I just got back from vacation, so I decided to update! This chapter is mostly humor based, but I hope you enjoy it!**

**Thanks to: Kanathia, The Vampire Avatar, Crashing Planes, and Kberry for reviewing! Reviews are amazing ^^**

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Chapter 15:

"Stripes"

I had a massive headache when I woke up. I went to place my hand on my head, but received a violent surprise in return. My hand didn't touch my face; it touched something soft… something _furry_. My eyes opened in surprise, revealing a world doused in blue and green. I yelled in surprise, but a strangled growl came out instead. Fred and George woke up and looked at me. Huge grins spread across their face.

"It works!" exclaimed George.

"He must have eaten it before bed," remarked Fred, pulling off his covers and standing.

"Eaten what?" I tried to say, but 'grr brrg!' came out instead.

"Did you eat the orange and black, striped taffy?" George

I nodded hesitantly. They burst into laughter.

"Out of all the taffies you could have tried…" George snickered.

"… you had to eat the enchanted one first!" Fred finished.

"Graeraer?"

"Yes, enchanted," replied Fred, guessing what I was trying to say.

I tried to stand up, but to no avail; having a completely different bone structure can be slightly disorienting. The twins giggled mercilessly at my attempts to stand. I growled. When I figured out how to move again, they were _so_ dead…

"Hey Darren…" Fred said, smiling wickedly. "You look good in stripes."

"Graw rerg rarg" was my intelligent reply.

…

As soon as I found my bearings, the twins ran out of the room and shut the door behind them. I jumped off the bed and landed in a heap near the door. I could hear laughter coming from behind the door. I stood back up and swiped at the doorknob. It broke off and clattered onto the floor, spinning ominously.

"RUN!" the twins yelled in synchronization.

I pushed the broken door open and clambered after them, stumbling occasionally. They sprinted down a flight of stairs and went into the nearest bed room. I tried to follow them down the stairs, but I tripped and rolled down the staircase. I heard nervous laughter coming from the door on the right, so I stumbled into the room, hissing furiously. I saw Harry and Ron, sitting on their beds and staring at me with wide eyes. But I could hear the twins' hitched breathing coming from the side of Harry's bed. I stalked over to Harry's bed and growled menacingly. Harry scrambled backwards on his bed, wand clutched tightly. I ignored him and focused on my targets. I crouched down and gathered the energy to jump. I would have made the jump cleanly, if it wasn't for the pillows thrown at me. I freaked out when the strange smelling material hit me and shredded it on instinct. Feathers flew everywhere, coating the room in a fluffy down, snow.

"Darren," Fred said, raising his arms in a submissive pose. "Let's not do anything rash–"

"Wait!" a pale Ron exclaimed. "That _thing _is _Darren!_?"

I looked at him and said "Graw rawr rawr grr grrrrr," which translated roughly into: 'Who'd you think I was? The boogeyman?'

"Um... nice kitty," Ron whispered, paling even more.

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the twins.

"Hey mate…" George said sweetly. "It's just a little prank… It'll wear off in a day or two."

"Two days!" I yelled, creating a loud roar that shook the room.

"Come on Darren," said Fred. "You've got to admit it's a genius idea. I mean, Tiger Taffy has got to be our most complicated prank yet…"

I sighed and looked down at my paws. Light greenish blue stripes, intersected with black, covered the upper part of my arms. The stripes must have been orange to human eyes, but my eyes saw the world in a spectrum of blues and greens. I supposed that I kinda deserved this; I _did _pull a pretty wicked prank on them last time.

"Let's go get some breakfast," suggested Harry, deciding that I wouldn't try to eat him.

I grumbled my agreement and walked over to him. He looked at me hesitantly and seemed to be holding back a question.

"Graw?" I asked.

"Well, er… I wanted to know… Could I touch your fur?"

I snorted and gave him a nod. He hesitantly patted me on the head.

"Brilliant," he muttered under his breath. "I've been in the wizarding world for five years now, but things like this still amaze me."

I huffed and looked at the twins, who had just sneaked past the edge of the bed. I waited for them to get in front of me to jump and let out a yowl. Girlish screams emanated from them as they ran out the door. I sat down, pleased with myself, and snickered. Harry and Ron's laughter joined mine and we made our way down the staircase. Sirius was sitting at the table, staring blankly into a cup of tea. He had fallen into a sort of depression since Christmas was over. Soon we would all be back at Hogwarts, leaving him alone in the gloomy House of Black. He looked up when he heard our footsteps and jumped to his feet.

"It's alright," Harry told him when he saw his reaction to me. "It's just Darren."

"Darren?..." He said, dumbfounded.

"Fred and George," Ron replied.

"Let's hope their mother doesn't see him. She's still in a right fit. Percy upset her more than she'll let on."

"I think they'd deserve it." Harry told Sirius pointedly. "The spell might last more than a day."

"Hmm…" said Sirius thoughtfully. "I wonder what type of spell they used. Human transfiguration is really advanced stuff."

"Well it can't be too different from those canary creams," Ron pointed out. "They turn you into a great big canary until you molt. Someone slipped Umbridge some and she was stuck for days…"

I tried to look innocent –but looking innocent when you weigh almost seven hundred pounds is difficult. Sirius looked at me knowingly and laughed.

"Hah! I was a bit of a prankster myself when I was your age, but I never even –I never managed to pull a prank on a Professor! How'd you manage to do that?"

I just stared at him. He looked at me sheepishly in return.

"Oh right… I bet there will be a bit of a communication problem till you're back to normal."

I rolled my eyes and grumbled.

* * *

Once the dreaded taffy wore off –a day and a half later– I decided to try out my new broomstick. There was a _very _small stretch of yard behind Grimmauld Place, but it was enough room to test my flying skills. The only flying experience I had ever had was in the clutches of a dragon's talons, so I was a bit nervous. My broom was the best in the house –next to Harry's Firebolt, which was locked up in Umbridge's Office. Harry decided to give me lessons, since the twins were still wary of me after I shredded their pants as a tiger.

"Okay," said Harry. "First thing you ought to learn is how to pick up your broom."

"Pick up my broom?" I said, looking at him oddly.

"Er –well, not exactly pick it up, but how to make it come to you. Tell your broom, 'up!' in a firm voice. The surer the better."

"Up!" I commanded it.

The broom rose shakily a few feet and then plummeted to the ground.

"That was good," Harry said, despite my disappointment. "Most people can't even get their broom to roll over on their first try. Have another go."

"UP!" I said boldly.

This time the broom obeyed my command. It rose quickly and hovered next to me.

"Nice one," Harry said approvingly. "Now, grab the handle and mount it."

I sat on the broom, similar to the way witches on posters did. I gripped the smooth handle firmly and waited for further instruction.

"Now kick off the ground, not to hard mind you –you'll end up losing control."

I did as he said and rose a few feet. I was about to cheer excitedly when my broom spun and I ended up hanging upside down.

Harry laughed and said, "Try to get yourself back upright. Lean a little to the left –ah– there you go."

"Now, rise a few feet and then come back down."

I complied. It wasn't too hard, and was actually kind of fun.

"Great," he said "Now try going forward and then backwards."

* * *

"This is awesome!" I said after doing a swift corkscrew.

Harry had borrowed Ron's broom, and was now flying alongside me. Harry had taught me what he could without showing me. We had taken a lunch break, and after we had eaten, Ron offered Harry his broom. Now he was showing me the more advanced tricks. I wished I had gotten a broomstick earlier –then I could have tried out for my houses' Quidditch team. Sadly, trials had ended _ages _ago.

"Hey Harry!" I said, hovering a bit. "Watch this."

I used my vampiric strength to grab the edge of my broom and hold myself up on one arm.

"Impressive," Harry commented. "But I bet you can't do this!"

He dived straight for the ground, twisting around on his broom. I thought he was a goner –he was going too fast to stop himself from splattering onto the ground– but at the last second, he managed to pull himself up.

"Wow!" I said, pretty impressed. "Where'd you learn that move?"

"I saw it at the Quidditch World Cup," he explained. "It's called the Wronski Defensive Faint."

"Can you teach me how to do that?" I asked.

"Sure, but it's pretty advanced," he warned.

"I'm sure I can handle it," I said with a smirk.

* * *

The rest of the break passed quickly. On the last day of break, Professor Snape visited Grimmauld place. He was going to be giving Harry Occlumency lessons, to keep Voldemort out of Harry's head. Mr. Weasley got out of the hospital after they found a cure to the snake's posion. We were supposed to be returning to Hogwarts the next day, but I had no idea how we were getting back. I thought of different scenarios, most of them ridiculous, until I fell asleep.

* * *

"Thank you for staying with us dear," said Mrs. Weasley, enveloping me in a warm hug. "And I'm sorry for the prank that Fred and George pulled on you. I can't believe they would do that to their close friend –on the day after Christmas too…"

"It's no problem Mrs. Weasley," I told her kindly –she had been apologizing over and over, since she came home to see a giant cat sitting in the living room. "Thanks for letting me stay."

"Anytime dearie."

I said goodbye to Sirius and Mr. Weasley, who had escorted us to the front door. Tonks was waiting for us, disguised as a skinny old woman. Hermione had told me she was a Metamorphmagus, which meant she could change her appearance at will. She and another member of the Order were escorting us to Hogwarts.

"Come on, the quicker we get on the bus the better," Tonks said nervously.

_The bus?..._ I thought, but my thought was interrupted by a loud BANG. Our other guard had stuck out his wand. A large purple bus had appeared –explaining the bang– causing a nearby lamppost to jump out of the way. I rolled my eyes –magic was strange. A young, acne covered, uniformed boy jumped onto the pavement.

"Welcome to the–" he began to say.

"Yes, yes, we know, thank you," Tonks said swiftly, cutting him off. "On, on, get on–"

"'Ere –it's 'Arry–!" the man began to yell.

"If you shout his name, I will curse you into oblivion," Tonks said menacingly.

"I've always wanted to go on this thing," Ron said from in front of me, boarding the bus.

I stepped on the bus and looked around. Chairs were skewed around the bus, all of them taken. Tonks ushered us to the next floor, dodging the spilled frogspawn on the floor.

"Looks like we'll have to split up," Tonks instructed. "Fred, George, and Darren, if you just take those seats at the back… Remus can stay with you."

We separated from the rest of the group and headed towards the back. We handed the uniformed boy eleven sickles each and he went to take the rest of our group's money. I sat between Remus and George. I turned to greet the man and stiffened. He smelled… like the wolfman, but… not like the wolfman. Either way, he reeked strongly of wolf. He turned to me and stiffened too, glancing at the tips of my fingers. I waited nervously for him to yell, 'Vampire! Vampire on the bus!' but he never did. Instead, he went into a moment of deep thought, before nodding at me.

"I know what it's like to be an outcast for what you are," he whispered to me. "Especially at Hogwarts… Don't worry… I won't tell anyone."

I heaved a relieved sigh, which was cut off by another loud BANG. My head hit the window behind me, cracking it slightly, as we were all thrown backwards. The ride consisted of many BANGs and the occasional splattering sound from the floor below. Seven stops later, we arrived at Hogsmeade. Remus and Tonks got off the train when we did, so that they could tell us goodbye.

"You'll be safe once you're in the grounds," said Tonks, scanning our surroundings. "Have a good term, okay?"

"Look after yourselves," said Lupin, giving us a round of handshakes.

We dragged our trunks through the slippery, snow-covered path, up to the school.

* * *

**So, how did y'all like the Tiger taffy? The idea came from, The Vampire Avatar, who is an awesome author. If any of you have ideas for the next prank in the prank war, tell me, and I'll try to put it in! And tiger Darren saw in blues and greens, 'cause that's how most cats see.**


	16. Revelations

**Hey guys! Remember my earlier note? Harry has the prophecy already; he just doesn't know **_**what**_** it is. He thinks it's a powerful weapon, because Dumbledore isn't talking to him –so he knows next to nothing about it. This note will become more and more important as the story goes on.**

**Thanks to Cvvphantom217, It's me, Robotic Worm, Shadowed Past, The Vampire Avatar, an unnamed Guest, Joanne K. Riordan, darksun, and blackbird for reviewing! *Hordes reviews***

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Chapter 16:

"Revelations"

My fellow Hufflepuffs and I (along with most of the schools 5th years) were sitting in the school library, working on our essays for Umbridge's class. I had finished mine a while back, but I was checking over it and comparing it to my classmates'. Ron and Hermione were sitting at the table next to mine, arguing over the proper circumstances that _Rennervate _could be used in.

"Hey Darren," Justin asked, nudging me with his elbow. "Is this the proper way to spell _Enneverate_?"

"No Justin," I replied without thinking. "It got changed to Rennervate after the last book came out…"

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"I mean –um… yeah, that's right.

Justin went back to his essay, and I turned to see Harry walking in. I waved to him, and he gave a halfhearted smile in return. He seemed pale, like something was worrying him. I supposed I could ask him about it later… At the moment, I tuned into the conversation the golden trio was having.

"… you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked concernedly.

"Yeah… fine… dunno…" Harry said impatiently. "Listen… I've just realized something…

"Go on mate…" Ron ushered.

"Well when Snape was going through my memories… He reminded me of… Well, you remember Bodrick Bode? He was the one that was supposed to –he was the one assigned to check Malfoy's house for the Ministry… "

"You mean the bloke who thought he was a teapot at Mungo's?" Ron interjected.

"Yeah, him… Well I was thinking… what if –what if that's where Voldemort is based? –Malfoy's house, not Mungo's"

"You think You-Know-Who is based at _Malfoy's _house?" Ron said incredulously. "But why would they let him stay _there_. He's supposed to be an important political figure. It would jeopardize his–"

"No, it makes perfect sense," Hermione interrupted. "He'd need a place to center at, one that it wouldn't be suspicious if people kept traveling to and from. And if Malfoy's house is big as he claims it is… and as old…"

"There would be tons of hiding spots," Harry finished. "But Bode must have seen something that he shouldn't have…"

"And that's why they sent him back as a complete nutter?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Yeah…" Harry said, clutching his head.

"Harry, are you sure you're alright?" Hermione asked with a concerned tone.

"Yeah… fine…" Harry said after a moment. "I just feel a bit… I just… I don't like Occlumency much…"

"I expect anyone would feel shaky after having their mind attacked over and over again," said Hermione sympathetically. "Look, let's go back to the common room, we'll be a bit more comfortable…"

So Voldemort was staying at the Malfoy's house, eh? I had only met Malfoy once or twice, but he didn't really say anything to me –unless his lackeys were at his side. I guess he was afraid of me. I wasn't overly muscled like most vampires, but I still had more bulk than most fifteen year olds… Anyways... I'd have to tell Mr. Crepsley about this new information during the Hogsmeade trip in Feburary…

"Hey Darren… Anyone in there?" Justin said, waving a hand in front of my face. "Hello! Earth to Darren!"

"Sorry, I was just thinking," I replied apologetically. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah," he said with glance around the room. "You ready to go back to the common room? We finished up a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

I was in an unusually good mood that morning, having thought of an idea for my next prank. But that changed when I entered the great hall. Many of the professors –including Dumbledore– were gathered at the head table, looking worried. In the middle of the table lay a copy of the daily news. I went over to Stebbins, who was reading the Daily Prophet with a horrified look on his face, to try to find out what this was all about.

"What's got the teachers so worked up?" I asked, taking a seat next to him.

"See for yourself," he said, handing me the paper.

* * *

**MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN**

**MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT"**

**FOR OLD DEATH EATERS**

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening, and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals. "We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals and beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached.

* * *

_Hmm… So they were blaming Sirius for Voldemort's handiwork now? _I thought._ They must really be grasping at straws at this point. That lie borders on being pathetic… _

I handed the paper back to Stebbins.

"Freaky, isn't it?" Stebbins said. "They placed dementors all around the school when Sirius Black got out, but he still managed to get into the school anyways… I wonder what they'll do this time…"

* * *

It turned out, that they did absolutely _nothing_. The Ministry didn't even seem to _care _if the escapees broke into Hogwarts. I heard rumors that the convicts were hiding out in the Shrieking Shack, waiting for a chance to sneak in. I knew those weren't true, because Mr. Crepsley was staying there. Speaking of Mr. Crepsley… today was the day of the Hogsmeade trip. I planned to discuss with the new information I had gained with him. So when I reached the village, I made a beeline to the shack, taking my usual route. I made sure to cover my tracks with my wand, so that no curious students followed me.

I reached the shack and opened the creaking door. I made sure to close the door completely, to try to keep in some heat. Mr. Crepsley took precautions to make sure no one realized he lived there. One of those precautions was not lighting a fire. I smelled a familiar smell in the room... something sweet...–hot chocolate! Mr. Crepsley must have bought some for us to drink. I hadn't thought he liked it that much!

"Hello Darren," the red cloaked vampire said formally. "How were your Holidays?"

"They were fantastic!" I said happily. "Thanks for the broomstick! And how did you write that message?"

"That is good, you are welcome, and I have been taking writing lessons."

"Really? From who?"

"A kind man in town offered to teach me. I thought it would be helpful. That way I can learn new spells and read the messages you send to me," he explained. "Now, enough about my doings. Have you found any new information during these few months?"

"More than I dared to hope for."

* * *

We each had a cup of hot chocolate and now we were sitting in a pair of mangled chairs, sipping from our mugs.

"So," I began. "During break, I got to stay at the headquarters for the Order of the Pheonix."

"What!" Mr. Crepsley half asked, half exclaimed. "I thought you were going to stay at the home of your friends -The Weasels, I believe? And what is this 'Order of the Pheonix'?"

"To answer all of your questions: I was, the Weasleys, and an organization against Voldemort."

"Why did you stay at headquarters, rather than at the home of the Weasleys?" he inquired.

"Mr. Weasley, the twins' dad, was badly injured. We ended up leaving a day early."

"Did you find anything out while you were there?"

"The only things I learned were; being a tiger sucks and Harry sees visions about Voldemort."

"Visions…? Wait! What do you mean by, 'being a tiger sucks?'"

"Well… Fred and George kinda turned me into a tiger for a day."

"WHAT! That is- That's impossible!"

"YOU USED A CONTRACTION!" I exclaimed, taken aback.

"NO I DID'N- DID NOT!"

"I'm pretty sure you did," I jeered.

"Hmmph… As I was saying, Harry has visions?"

"Yeah," I said, still chuckling. "He saw Arthur –Mr. Weasley– getting injured. I think he said it was Voldemort's snake... A great big, green one. Anyway, he saw the vision from in the snake. He thought he was being possessed, but the twins' sister convinced him he was wrong, Apparently she was possessed a few years ago. But besides that, he is taking some kind of lessons now, to help him stop the visions."

"Why would they want to stop him from seeing visions of the enemy? It could be useful. Imagine the information we could gain if you had visions of the Vampaneze Lord's plans…"

"I don't know," I admitted. "But they must have _some_ reasoning behind it. It was Professor Dumbledore's idea... Maybe they're afraid that the connection could be used two-ways."

"That is certainly possible. But _why_ does he have these visions in the first place?"

"I honestly have no idea. Did you hear about the Death Eaters who escaped from Askaban?"

"I heard of some convicts escaping, yes. But what on earth is a Death Eater?" he asked.

"That's what Voldemort's followers call themselves."

"A ridiculous name in my opinion," Mr. Crepsley said. "What does eating death even mean?"

"Not a clue."

* * *

We decided to go into town. There was a small book store huddled in a corner, shelved between two larger stores. We ducked inside. Thankfully it was cloudy outside, but the light from behind the clouds was still unbearably bright to Mr. Crepsley.

"Hello Dearies," said a kindly old lady, who was shuffling towards us. "Welcome to Mrs. Grady's Book Nook. Are you boys looking for anything specific?"

"Yes," Mr. Crepsley said. "I am in need of a book about defensive and offensive spells."

"Ah yes," she said, nodding. "I've sold many of those since those Death Eaters broke free. But I may have one left…"

She headed to a dusty bookshelf that was mostly empty. On the shelves various books sat. There were several copies of the book, _Magical Me,_ which seemed to have sat on their shelf for ages. She bent down and picked up a book. She dusted off the cover and handed it to Mr. Crepsley.

"Will this do," she asked with a smile.

"This will be fine," Mr. Crepsley said, giving her a strangled smile.

I wanted to laugh. I don't think anyone could resist smiling at the old lady's sweet demeanor. She turned to me next.

"Did you need something too, dearie?"

I grinned and told her what I needed. She smiled and got me a book. She handed it over to me and grinned. I read the cover. This was perfect.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. "This is just what I needed."

* * *

We checked out and left the dusty store. There was still some time until I had to return to Hogwarts, so we headed to the Three Broomsticks. It was pretty packed, but we managed to snag a seat in a corner table. Mr. Crepsley ordered some ale and I ordered a butterbeer. Mr. Crepsley jeered at my choice, but he understood why it was necessary. I was supposed to be a fifteen year old boy. And fifteen year old boys typically don't drink ale. That and I had laid off ale since the Prince of Ale ordeal…

* * *

Once I returned to school, I snuck into a secret passageway and worked on my next prank. It would take about two hours for me to make, and I wanted to finish before curfew. I slipped my creation into the large pockets of my robes and made my way to a specific painting; one of a pear. I tickled the pear and moved as it swung open. I was immediately swarmed by house-elves,

"Hello sir!" said one of the small creatures. "What do you need, young master?"

"Hello," I said kindly. "I was told by a certain Harry Potter, that a house-elf named Dobby worked here. Is he here now?"

"Oh yes," the house-elf replied, seeming put down. "Dobby is in kitchen, try to persuade Winky to cook. Winky is a baaad elf. She has taken a liking to…_ butterbeer_."

"Oh," I said, faking horror. "That is terrible! But if you do not mind, could you get Dobby for me? I need to ask him a question."

"Yes sir," the house-elf said, bowing. "Would you care for some tea –or a cake."

"A cake would be fine," I said, smiling at the elf.

The elf vanished into the kitchen and returned a moment later, holding a tray of cakes, shortly followed by an oddly dressed house-elf.

"Here is your cakes sir!" the first elf squeaked proudly.

"Thank you, they look delicious," I said nicely.

He bowed with a gleam in his eye and left, leaving me and Dobby alone.

"Hello sir," said the elf, bowing despite the numerous hats on his head. "Lindy says you know Harry Potter?"

"Yes," I said kindly. "My name is Darren by the way…"

"You have a question for Dobby?"

"Well… not really a question… More of a favor."

"What do you need, Darren sir?"

"Well you see, the Weasley twins are and I are having a prank war, and I was wondering if you would help me…"

"I know the Wheezy twins," he beamed proudly. "And any friend of Harry Potter is a friend of Dobby."

"So you'll help?" I asked.

"Of course," he said, nodding.

"Excellent."

* * *

**Whew. This chapter did not like me –and I did not like it! At least not the first half. Once Mr. Crepsley came in, the story became easier to write. What will Darren's mystery prank be? It was suggested by a reviewer, but you'll have to wait to find out which one ;D **


	17. A Colorful Prank

**Hi guys! This chapter ought to be interesting enough. **

**Give a round of applause to: , Robotic Worm, The Vampire Avatar, Saphire Bethany Stacy Skyle, and blackray! They were the amazing reviews for last chapter!**

"A Colorful Prank"

I awoke the next morning with a smile on my face. Dobby had agreed to help me pull of my biggest prank yet and I was excited to see the results. After draining a bottle of blood, I marched to the Great Hall with Ernie, who commented on my good mood.

"You seem to be awfully cheery this morning," he said with a yawn –we had a particularly large homework load this weekend, which we started on last night.

"I just have a feeling that today is going to be a good day," I replied cheerfully.

"If you say so…" he said, looking up at the stormy celling in the Great Hall.

He sat next to Hannah and Justin, who were currently arguing over which flavor of jam was better. I looked across the hall to the Gryffindor table, where I saw a sleepy Fred and George sitting. They saw my smirking glance and looked at their food wearily. They got up and moved to a new spot, where they fixed themselves a new plate. I just smiled. I turned back to my food and ate until I heard the first shout sounding from the lion's table. I glanced casually at the table and smiled.

Lavender Brown was the first victim of my prank. She was currently fretting over her hair, which had turned a brilliant shade of pink. While everyone was discussing her new hair, Neville's hair exploded into long curly locks, which were a violent shade of violet. Next to him, Harry's hair was retreating into its scalp, except for his bangs, which were colored a midnight blue. Hermione's hair grew so large that she seemed to be a walking afro of yellow hair. Gryffindors on each side of the long table were now sporting every type of hairstyle and color. Fred's hair had a bob cut that was colored with a deep magenta. George was supporting a lime green comb-over.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore yelled, breaking through the din that had risen in the Hall. "Now, if all of you would sit down, I will try to figure out what has happened here."

He walked towards the Gryffindor table, picked up a piece of bacon and sniffed it. He must not have smelled anything, so he took a bite of the bacon. For a moment, nothing happened. But then his beard disappeared into his face, and his hair knotted itself into bright orange cornrows. Many laughed at this.

"Hmm," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "I'm not sure what exactly has tainted this food, but I do not recommend you eat it."

There was more laughter. Umbridge walked into the room and gasped.

"What is the meaning of this?" she said. "Where is Dumbledore?"

"I am right here, Dolores," he said, shocking the woman.

"But your hair!" she said, aghast. "And where is –where's your beard?"

"It seems to have disappeared," he said good-naturedly. "But whether for good or not, has yet to be determined."

"How did this happen?" she asked, gesturing to the Gryffindor table.

"The food seems to be enchanted."

"Enchanted?"

"Yes, enchanted. You may sample it if you'd like, but I warn you against it."

"I highly doubt that every bit of food on this table is enchanted," she said, picking up a glass of orange juice.

She swallowed the juice and the grinned triumphantly when her hair did not change. However, she lost her smile when her hair dyed itself an unsightly greenish yellow and styled itself into a tonsure. A red tooth-brush mustache decorated her upper lip.

"This is an outrage!" she said angrily. "When I tell the Minister what has happened here–"

"I did warn you," Dumbledore said.

"Never in all my years have I seen such a disgraceful– This is exactly why Fudge sent me here!" she yelled and stomped out of the hall.

"Now," Dumbledore said once she left. "I'm sure this is only a simple enchantment. I will see to it that I fix this problem. Until then, you will be dismissed from your classes."

Much whooping commenced. This was a pleasant side effect. If he was waiting for the hair to return to normal to start classes, we'd be out for a while…

"Now, I will try a simple hair trimming charm on… ah yes, Mrs. Granger," he said, beckoning to the hair monster known as Hermione Granger. "Now… _Capillos Breviare._"

"Ah see," he said when her hair returned to normal. "There is nothing to worry ab–"

His words were cut off when Hermione's hair fell off her head. No one moved for a moment. Then her hair exploded into a fro that was twice as big as the previous one.

"This may be a problem," Dumbledore said slowly.

…

The prank lasted for about a week. Potions, spells, and transfigurations could not change the enchanted students' hair back to normal. In fact, it did the opposite. Any attempts made to change someone's hair back to a decent look ended disastrously. For the first three days of the prank, people made nonstop attempts at fixing their hair. Eventually they decided to just wait it out. But after five days, many started to believe their hair was permanently changed. Fred and George begged me to tell them how long it would last, and how I pulled this prank off. I didn't tell them of course. It was more fun to watch them squirm. It was definitely good payback for the Tiger Taffy.

I was sitting in the Great Hall, munching on some bacon when Hermione called me over to her table.

"Hey Darren," she said. "You should read this article in the Quibbler."

"Wait," I said, looking at the unusual amount of letters on the table. "Who are all these for?"

"Me," Harry said. "They're fan-mail –well some of it's fan-mail."

"For what?"

"Read the article and you'll find out," George said.

I looked down at the paper. Harry's face grinned sheepishly at me from behind bold, red letters.

**HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:**

**THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED**

**AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN**

The article was told in Harry's point of view. He was in some sort of tournament, called the Tri-Wizard-Tournament. He was in a maze, searching for a cup. The name Cedric Diggory rung a bell…–But then I remembered that he was the Hufflepuff who died last year! He and Harry reached the cup at the same time, and the cup brought them to a graveyard! A man named Peter Pettigrew killed Cedric and performed a ritual that brought Voldemort back to life. Voldemort challenged Harry to a duel, which Harry narrowly escaped by grabbing the portkey.

So that's how Voldemort escaped death? A ritual? There had to be more to it than that. If you could cheat death with a simple ritual, nearly everybody would live for ages…

"What is going on here?" an overly sweet, girlish voice asked.

I looked behind me and saw Umbridge, who was glaring at the amount of owls and letters sitting on the table. Many students were now staring at us.

"Why have you got all these letters, Mr. Potter?" she asked slowly.

"Is it a crime now?" Fred interjected loudly. "Getting mail?"

"Be careful, Mr. Weasley," she said sweetly," or I shall have to put you in detention. Well, Mr. Potter?"

He hesitated before saying," people have written to me because I gave an interview. About what happened to me last June."

"An interview," Umbridge squealed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them," he said. "Here–"

He threw her the magazine, which she examined with bulging eyes. Her pasty, flabby face turned an unpleasant shade of violet.

"When did you do this?" she said with a trembling voice.

"Last Hogsmeade weekend," he replied.

"There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for you, Mr. Potter," she said, shaking with rage. "How you dare… how you could…" She seemed at a loss for words, but continued anyways. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions…"

She stalked off, still holding the magazine. She must have sent the copy to Fudge, because before the morning ended, there was a new decree decorating the school. This one stated that any student with a copy of The Quibbler would be expelled. This of course only made the students curious –they _were _mostly teenagers after all. Around the school, disguised copies of Harry's article were being read, distributed, and passed along. Gossip about Harry's heroism and mental state spread throughout the school. And in no time, everyone had read the article, or at least heard of it.

…

I sent a copy with Austin to Mr. Crepsley, who sent a short and scraggly reply. A few days later, Umbridge sacked her first victim. The bug-eye Divination teacher lost her job, but not her place in the school. Dumbledore reminded Umbridge that he still had the power to choose who _lived _at the school, even if he couldn't decide who worked there. He angered her more when he brought in the new Divination teacher. The new teacher was surprisingly a centaur. He shared a glance with me when he walked into the entrance hall. I was slightly upset that I didn't have a divination class, but Harry insisted that I wasn't missing much.

Right before Easter, we had our first D.A. lesson on Patronuses. I had difficulty finding a memory happy enough to conjure one, so at first I only succeeded in producing thing wisps of silver vapor. But then I remembered the joy I had felt on Christmas this year, and tried again. This time a gigantic spider burst out of my wand. Everyone stopped and looked at the mammoth arachnid.

"Harry," Ron said with a shudder. "It's like Aragog. It's an–"

"Acromantula," Harry finished.

My Patronus vanished into a wisp of smoke and I glanced around the room.

"What?" I said. "Never seen a giant spider before?"

"No," Hermione said. "Most of us haven't."

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Ron was now too scared to produce another terrier Patronus, as were many of the students around me. I had forgotten how scared most people were of spiders.

"You can stop gaping now," I said bluntly.

An uneasy chatter started up again, along with a few weak attempts at a Patronus. Harry sat next to me and told me the story of Aragog, the great spider in the Forbidden Forest. He then congratulated me on making a full-blown Patronus. Apparently, the bigger the Patronus, the harder it is to conjure. I just nodded and began reading one of the books from the many shelves in the D.A. room. I had read almost two pages when Dobby the house-elf appeared in the room.

"Hi, Dobby!" Harry said to the elf. "What are you –what's wrong?"

There did indeed seem to be something wrong with the elf. His breath was hitched and his eyes were wide with terror. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the elf.

"Harry Potter, sir…" Dobby squeaked, his ears trembling. "Harry Potter sir… Dobby has come to warn you… but the other house-elves have been told not to tell…

Suddenly the elf ran head first at a wall. His many hats kept him from hurting himself, but many of the girls squeaked sympathetically.

"What happened Dobby," Harry asked impatiently, forcing the elf's arm down.

"Harry Potter… she… she…"

"Who's she Dobby," harry said after forcing down Dobby's other arm.

But the elf seemed unable to respond. His head simply lolled to the side, his eyes crossed.

"Umbridge?" Harry asked, horrified.

Dobby nodded.

What about her? Dobby –she hasn't found out about this –about us –about the D.A.?"

The elf didn't nod this time. He didn't need to. The answer was plain on Dobby's face.

"Is she coming?" Harry asked quietly.

Dobby howled, "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

I rose to my feet as Harry straightened out.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry bellowed. "RUN!"

We all raced towards the door. I got there first and I was nearly smashed by the other students rushing towards me. I kicked the door open, splintering it, and raced out into the hallway. I headed straight for a hidden nook that was behind a painting nearby, pulling Ernie and the twins with me.

"I never noticed this place," Fred said, looking around the small area.

"Shh!" I whispered, looking through the translucent painting. Someone was moving outside, going to crouch in a niche in the wall. A few seconds later, someone came sprinting down the hall. We all watched in horror as the first silhouette caused the second to fall.

"AAARGH!" said the tripee, sounding quite like Harry.

"Trip Jinx, Potter!" said the proud voice of Draco Malfoy. "Hey, Professor –PROFESSOR! I've got one!"

A large, round silhouette came thumping down the hall. We exchanged a glance. It could only be one person…

"It's him!" she said breathlessly. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh, very good –fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him from here… Stand up, Potter."

We watched as Harry stood and was roughly grabbed by the arm.

"You hop along and see if you can round up anymore of them, Draco," Umbridge said to Malfoy. "Tell the others to look in the library –anyone out of breath– check the bathrooms. Miss Parkinson can do the girl's one –off you go –and you. You can come with me."

I waited till all three silhouettes had disappeared before turning to the group with me.

"What now?" Ernie said, looking to me as leader.

"Well," I said slowly. "I might have a plan."

**Yay! The multicolored hair prank was suggested by Robotic Worm. Originally, I was just going to have wacky hair colors, but I decided to spice it up a bit! **


	18. Doppelgangers

**Well I've got good news and bad news. The bad news? I lost my OOTP book. The good news? With a help from a few friends, I can continue writing :D So there won't be as many direct quotes from now on. Please don't kill me if I leave something out though x.x I have bad memory. **

**Last chapter's amazing reviewers were: Kaleidoscope Glass, The Vampire Avatar, Saphire Bethany Stacy Skyle BeautifulNoMatterWhat, cvvphantom217, Number 1 Muse Fan, Ariana-blood-hehe, and Robotic worm! :D**

* * *

Chapter 18:

"Doppelgangers"

* * *

I leaned in close and whispered my plan. The twins smirked evilly when I finished, and Ernie looked impressed.

The plan was simple. Since Ernie was a prefect, he could be out after curfew. He could claim the twins were out after curfew, and he was taking them to their Head of House. That is... _if_ they got caught. I would make a distraction, hopefully helping out other D.A. members.

"That just might work," said Ernie.

"I hope so," I admitted.

Ernie left the small room first, once we were sure the coast was clear. Fred and George slipped out next, shortly after him. I waited a moment and exited the hiding place, heading in the opposite direction of the other three. Once I got to the opposite end of the hall, I pointed at a wall.

"_Dissiliunt Murum!" _I shouted, quickly followed by, "_Protego!"_

The wall in front of me exploded, rubble bouncing off of my shield charm. As soon as rocks quit tumbling, I ran. When I heard rapid footsteps approaching, I climbed up the nearest wall.

"_Sonorus," _I whispered when I reached the top of the wall, changing my voice into a loud boom. I shouted, "DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY!" in my deepest voice, wincing as my loud voice hurt my ears.

"Quietus," I whispered, pointing my wand at my throat with the hand that wasn't holding me onto the wall.

I crawled into a dark spot on the wall, hiding my body in the shadows. I saw a gang of Slytherins running in the corridor below me. None of them looked up. I took the Dracula path back to my common room, where a pale faced Ernie was waiting.

"Come in the dorm quick," he said, pulling me into the boy's dormitory.

"_Patet Carminibus,"_ he said, pointing at my wand with his. "Now do a few simple spells. Some that you'd do if you had spent the evening doing homework."

* * *

We were sitting in the common room, kind of doing our homework. I thought we should have just gone to bed, but Ernie insisted that I do a few spells.

"What did you do with that spell?" I asked, transfiguring a button into a beetle.

"It cleared out all the spells you've done in the past hour," he replied.

"Oh," I said, vanishing the beetle, which was scurrying away from us.

"I heard some pretty loud noises, along with a really loud voice," Ernie commented. "What did you _do?"_

"I uh… blew up a wall?"

"YOU WHAT!" he shouted. "WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU DAMAGE SCHO–"

"Ernie!" I hissed, covering his mouth. "Do you _want _Umbridge to find us?"

"Of course not," he said, returning to his normal pompous manner. "But what was the shouting about?"

"I used a_ Sonorus_ charm," I replied. "If I had yelled with my regular voice, they would have been able to follow it."

"A_ Sonorus_ charm?" Ernie said proudly. "I taught you that, didn't I?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Let's get to bed before Umbridge decides to barge in."

"Right," Ernie said, following me back into our dorm.

* * *

The next morning brought solemn news. Dumbledore had flown the coop, leaving us with Umbridge as our new headmaster. The school itself seemed to be angry about this. Dumbledore's office barred itself from her, keeping her out of the traditional headmaster's office.

In her current office, she was holding questionings. I heard tell that she was even using truth potions on the students she thought were part of the D.A. So when I was called out of herbology, I was a bit worried.

I walked into the pink office warily and stared at the grinning toad in front of me.

"Sit down," she said in her high, girlish voice. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No thank you," I said with a strained smile. "I had a glass of tea before I came here."

"I insist," she grinned. "I made this pot special, just for you."

"I really don't want any tea," I said, trying to keep the smile on my face.

"Sit down," she said. "Would you like one sugar or two?"

"None," I bit out. "I don't want any tea."

"It would hurt my feelings if you did not even _taste_ the tea," she said, faking a pout.

"Fine," I said.

"Very good!" she said, handing me the tea.

"Wait," I replied. "I want _you _to taste it first."

"Are you implying that I poisoned your drink, Mr. Shan?"

"No," I replied. "It is tradition in my family for the host to test the food before serving it."

"Don't be silly," she said, losing patience. "This is not one of your family meetings."

"I'm not going be the one to break a family tradition that has been going on for several generations," I lied.

"You may return to your class now," Umbridge announced, barely concealing her anger.

"Have a good day," I said with a smirk.

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly. Somehow, none of the D.A. members fell for Umbridge's tea trick. I spent most of my evening doing homework, since I hadn't been able to the night before. Speculation rose around the school. There were all sorts of wild rumors about the explosion I made. One Gryffindor insisted that another troll had broken into the school.

The next day signaled the start of the weekend. For most students, this was a relief. But for us fifth years… It just meant more time studying. So on Saturday morning, I pulled myself out of bed, prepared for a day of tedious studying. Fred and George's good mood did nothing to lighten my spirits though. I sat down and made a quick breakfast of toast and orange juice. I took a big gulp of my orange juice and nearly gagged at the taste afterwards. I looked into my glass and saw it had a slightly brown tinge to it.

Either the school's orange juice had gone bad, or I was about to have a hell of a day…

I began to think the second option was correct when my skin on my arm started bubbling. Around me I could see the same thing happening to my fellow Hufflepuffs. I looked back at my arm. It seemed to be inflating in size, becoming doughier. My clothes was sneaking down my arm, changing into a pink color. My chair creaked as my weight increased. I grew shorter… rounder… more toad-like.

The transformation stopped a few minutes later. I looked around the room with eyes that felt bigger than they were just a minute ago. I blinked when I saw about thirty Umbridges around me, some groaning in pain and others glancing around with wide eyed shock. The real Umbridge gasped and fell out of her chair at the head table.

"Well," I said in a high, girly voice. "I think today just got interesting."

* * *

Snape, the potion's master, declared that a form of polyjuice potion was responsible for this sudden change to the majority of the Hufflepuff table.

"My N.E.W.T. class," he drawled from the front of the great hall, "has been brewing a potion known as the Doppelganger Potion. This potion not only changes the drinker's appearance, but also their clothing. Every time the person who's hair is in the potion changes their clothing, the potion drinkers clothes will mimick theirs. It takes six months to brew, and is only used in the most_ dire _of circumstances._ How _this potion made its way into your drinks, I do not know. But I can only assume that this is a form of retaliation for the prank pulled on the Gryffindor table last week. Thankfully, the potion will only last a handful of days…"

"Days!" Umbridge screeched, recovering from her period of unconsciousness. "Severus! You must know _some_ form of a cure–"

"No," Snape interjected. "There is nothing to do but wait it out. I suggest you dismiss the students from class until they resume their regular personality."

"_Dismiss _the students from their _classes?"_ Umbridge shrieked. "That is completely absurd!"

"Then you will have to deal with the consequences," he replied. "Until then, there will be no way to identify who the students under the potion's influence are.

* * *

Chaos reigned the school that Monday. Students who had taken the potion were deemed as having 'Umbridge-flu.' Eventually we turned it into a sort of joke. It was not uncommon for someone to hear the tell-tale '_hem, hem,_' only to find that it was an imposter. Meanwhile, skiving snack boxes became _very_ popular. Dozens of students would run out of the class with nosebleeds, claiming that they had Umbridgitis.

Five days later, we all returned to our normal selves. I was in D.A.D.A, when I transformed back into my normal appearance. But I was still wearing an unsightly pink cardigan. Professor Burbage was taking over Umbridge's class today, so she kindly excused me from class so I could change into my robes. I made my way back to my common room, but stopped when I passed Professor McGonagall's office. Harry had been called out of class just minutes before me, for help on deciding his future career. There seemed to be a sort of argument going on in the room however…

"…was just concerned that you might not have Harry's most recent Defense Against the Dark Arts marks in front of you. I'm quite sure I slipped in a note..." simpered Umbridge's voice.

"What, this thing?" said Professor McGonagall, rustling a sheet of paper, before continuing. "Yes, as I was saying, Potter, Professor Lupin thought you showed a pronounced aptitude for the subject, and obviously for an Auror–"

"Did you not understand my note Minerva?" Umbridge asked, sweet as honey.

"Of course I understood it," the other Professor bit out.

Well, then, I am confused... I'm afraid I don't quite understand how you can give Mr. Potter false hope that–"

False hope?"repeated Professor McGonagall."He has achieved high marks in all his Defense Against the Dark Arts tests-"

"I'm terribly sorry to have to contradict you, Minerva, but as you will see from my note, Harry has been achieving very poor results in his classes with me–"

"I should have made my meaning plainer,' said professor McGonagall impatiently. "He has achieved high marks in all Defense Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent teacher."

I ran before my laughter could escape my lips. Professor McGonagall had just all but insulted Umbridge to her face. I burst into a fit of laughter when I made it to my common room. Then I pulled off the ugly pink sweater once I got into my dorm and watched in surprise as it morphed back into a set of robes. Instead of returning to class, I decided to seek out my head of house. I only had a day left to talk to Professor Sprout about Career Advice, and since I had the hour off…

* * *

"Come in!" rang Professor Sprout's cheerful voice. "Ah, Darren. Glad to see you're back to normal. Sit down, sit down."

She pointed to a brown, squashy chair, indicating that I sit in that one. I sat and thought about what I should say. I had no desire to finish wizarding school, and I really had no idea what type of jobs there were…

"So," she said, leaning forward with a smile. "What job do you aspire to get when you finish school?"

"Well," I said, thinking of the twins' brother Charlie. "I want to study dragons, and maybe even interact with them."

"Dragons?" Professor Sprout said with a surprised tone. "Working with dragons is a very dangerous career, not one for the light-hearted…"

"I think I'll be fine," I said with a smile. "I'm far from light-hearted."

"Alright, dear," she said, scanning through a folder. "I see here that you were homeschooled before coming to Hogwarts?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Well, in order to get into a dragon related career, you need top marks in Care of Magical Careers. Professor Hagrid has marked you somewhere between 'Outstanding' and 'Exceeds Expectations'. That's a good start. Doing well in charms and herbology is also important. You are doing soundly in charms, but you are only up to an 'Acceptable' in my class. I only take those with 'Exceeds Expectations' or 'Outstanding' into my N.E.W.T class. If you work extra hard these next few weeks, you might bring it up to the proper standard, so you can manage to get your dream job."

"Alright," I said with a smile. "Thanks for the help, Professor, but I need to get to my next class."

"Alright, dear," she said, waving. "If you would like a tutor, Neville Longbottom will most likely help you…"

I made my way to my next class and ignored the jibes about the pink cardigan I had worn earlier that day.

* * *

"Hey Darren," Fred said from behind me at dinner. "Do you want to help us with a little prank? We're willing to call a cease fire for now…"

"Of course," I grinned.

"Here's what we're gunna do," George said, leaning in to whisper in my ear.

"Brilliant," I said with a grin.

"Isn't it?"

* * *

"FIRE!" Fred shouted from across the hall.

I ignited the box of fireworks, running away as soon as the string was lit. We ran together, dodging a pink firework, which spun past us screaming, 'WEEEEEEEEEEE!'

On the third floor, George was setting up his portable swamp. It had begun to coat the floors already, but it wasn't spreading past enough.

"Fred, Darren!" he yelled, beckoning to us. "Help me get some more water on this thing!"

"_Agumenti!"_ we yelled in synchronization, adding water to the swamp.

It began growing faster, turning the entire hallway into a misty swamp. We heard the sound of many footsteps approaching.

"Get out of here Darren," Fred said, glancing at the shadows appearing around the corner. "We'll take the blame. It's been a pleasure pranking with you mate…"

I didn't question him, I just ran. When I was far enough that no one would see me, I climbed to the top of a wall. From there I made my way back to Fred and George. Filch, Umbridge, and many other students were gathered around, staring in shock (and some in anger) at the swamp in the middle of the school.

"You two are about to learn what happens to wrong-doers in my school," Umbridge said, glaring at the twins.

"You know what? I don't think we are," said Fred. "George, I think we've outgrown full-time education... Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?"

"Definitely" was his reply.

"_ACCIO BROOMSTICKS_," they shouted in unison, raising their wands.

Their broomsticks zoomed down the hallway, with chains still attached to them, shortly followed by the school's poltergeist. They mounted their brooms and looked at the grinning ghost.

"Give her hell from us, Peeves," Fred said.

The ghost saluted them as they zoomed off, leaving Hogwarts behind.

* * *

**Well, from here on out, the story becomes more serious. The prank war is over, the twins have left, and O. are approaching. The prank was an idea between me and Sapphire Bethany Stacy Skyle. Since it wasn't actually Polyjuice Potion, Darren**_** could**_** take it, even if he is a vampire. Tell me what you think in the review section :D **


	19. Umbridge Gets Tied Up

**Hey guys! Due to a lot of mayhem, (including school starting back up and having to rewrite this three times) this has taken me a while to post, which I apologize greatly for. I have a relatively easy semester, so I probably will be able to continue regular updates. **

**The spectacular reviewers for last chapter were, Joanne K. Riordan, Saphire Bethany Stacy Skyle, Kanathia, The Vampire Avatar, cvvphantom217, Ariana-blood-hehe, Number 1 Muse Fan, and E.J.L!**

* * *

Chapter 19:

"Umbridge Gets Tied Up"

Fred and George's sudden departure from Hogwarts became the talk of the school. It seemed that the twins would go down in Hogwarts' history for their great escape. Their story had been passed along by ear and warped to the point where the tale was almost unbelievable. I even heard a pair of gossiping girls say that the twins had cursed Umbridge before they left, leaving her in the hospital wing for hours. Other students were making threats to follow the Weasley twins' footsteps. It was not uncommon to hear someone planning to 'pull a Weasley.'

In the meantime, students had begun rebelling against Umbridge with a whole new vigor. Skiving snackboxes were used so often that it was impossible to tell if a student was really sick or not. Filch stalked around the school, cracking his whip at any troublemakers. But he had one major problem; there were so many miscreants, that he didn't know where to turn! The Inquisitorial Squad tried to help, but they kept having unfortunate… accidents.

Most of these 'accidents' were the work of me and my ragtag crew of mischief makers, who were leading the schools rebellion. Warrington, a Slytherin Quidditch player, was still in the hospital after Justin's scabbed-skin jinx. Pansy Parkinson had been slipped a potion, that caused her to grow antlers, by Neville Longbottom.

Peeves had stayed true to his word and was indeed giving Umbridge hell. He would follow her around the school, muttering obscenities and blowing raspberries any time she opened her mouth. When he wasn't tormenting Umbridge, he was causing havoc elsewhere. None of the other teachers cared. In fact, Harry swore he heard Professor McGonagall _helping _Peeves unscrew the crystal chandelier in the Greeting Hall.

The last Quidditch match was to be held today. It was Ravenclaw verses Gryffindor. Harry and Hermione had offered me a seat next to them, which I gladly took. The game began with the normal chorus of 'Weasley is Our King,' but a few minutes into the game, Hagrid walked up, behind Harry and Hermione.

"Harry," he said hoarsely. "Hermione... Listen, can yeah come with me? Now? While ev'ry-one's watchin' the match?"

"Er… can't it wait, Hagrid?" Harry said, glancing at the half giant.

"No," Hagrid replied. "No, Harry, it's gotta be now… while ev'ry-one's lookin' the other way… Please?"

"Course," Harry said, gazing at Hagrid's distressed face, "course we'll come."

They excused themselves and walked away, causing much grumbling from other spectators in the stands. I watched as they descended down the stairs and headed towards the Forbidden Forest. I was so busy concentrating on them, that I didn't even notice Gryffindor scoring. My curiosity got the better of me when I saw them enter the forest, disappearing inside the dark trees. I waited till it had been long enough that no one would grow suspicious before I left the stands. Ducking into the trees, I tried to follow the deep imprints Hagrid's footsteps made.

About a hundred yards into the forest, a group of centaurs were gathered and seemed to be in a deep discussion. They all stopped when they heard me approaching. I saw Magorian standing near the head of the circle.

"Ah, Darren Shan," he said politely. "The stars foretold that we would meet again."

"Is this the half-vampire you spoke of earlier?" a centaur with a deep black coat asked.

"Yes," Magorian replied. "What brings you to the forest, prince?"

"I saw my friends enter the forest, and I was following them," I answered sheepishly.

"The two foals –or cubs as your kind call them?" the second centaur asked.

"Yeah, that's them!" I said. "Do you know where they went?"

"Indeed," replied another centaur, this one a light gray. "We were debating on whether we should punish them for trespassing in our woods. We do not harm the innocent, but Hagrid has been a nuisance lately. He kept us from rightfully punishing one of our own, Firenze. I am sure you understand the severity of this. Vampires have always been strict about punishing the members of their clan…"

"Oh yeah…" I mumbled, thinking back to my first set of trials. "I understand… But Harry and Hermione are innocent. They only came into the forest because Hagrid asked them to."

"We will let them pass today, but we must give him a warning not to seek shelter under our trees again. Do you know of the… creature Hagrid is keeping in the forest?"

"No," I said. "What is it?"

"Come, I will show you," said the ebony colored leader. "But we must remain quiet. It is a very dangerous creature when provoked."

I nodded and followed them, astonished at how discreet they could be, even with heavy hooves. We came to a sort of clearing. It appeared that something had been uprooting all the trees in the nearby area.

Then I saw… him. A massive silhouette stood, blocking the sun. He was facing away from us, watching the retreating figures of Harry, Hermione and Hagrid. A dirty looking coat made of roughly stitched together animal skins covered the figure, who was about sixteen feet tall. After a few minutes, he grew bored of watching the retreating trio and began pulling on a tree that seemed to already be halfway out of the ground. He managed to rip the tree up after a few tugs. He seemed pleased with his progress and grumbled happily. I exchanged a look with the centaurs.

"You see, prince?" Magorian whispered. "If those bonds holding him down ever broke, the whole forest would be in distress. But for now I must leave. Cereus may assist you if needed."

With those words he left with a few others trailing after, leaving me with a pair of centaurs. One had the coat of a paint horse. White spots decorated his brown fur. The other seemed to be albino. His human hair _and _horse hair were both white.

"I am Cereus and this is Sonorous," the albino centaur said. "It is nice to meet you Darren Shan, prince of the vampire clan."

"Nice to meet you too," I replied.

"Do you need an escort to the edge of the forest, or would you like to know more about these magical woods?"

"Well," I muttered. "It would be neat to explore a bit. You don't have to follow me though."

"Ah, but there are many dangers lurking in every directions. It would be best if you did not wander into a nest of acromantulas."

The other, seemingly mute centaur, simply nodded.

"What are acromantulas?" I asked Cereus. "That's the second time I've heard of them. Last time it was because my patronus turned out to be a great big spider."

"That is because acromantulas _are _great big spiders," he replied.

"Can you show them to me?" I asked hesitantly .

"It would be very dangerous," Cereus cautioned.

"If it comes down to it, I can control them."

"_Control _them?"

"Yeah. I used to do a show with a spider called Madame Octa. I don't have a flute, but if I need to, I think I can handle one or two."

Sonorous tapped my shoulder and handed me a reed pipe. It wasn't a flute, but it would work. I gave my thanks to the silent centaur and gave a test blow on the pipe. I decided that it wasn't _too _different from my flute. Then I hung the pipe around my neck, letting it dangle from the string that was now around my neck. We traveled about a mile north before Sonorous signaled to us, going behind a bush. Cereus and I joined him and spied over the top of the bush. A colossal spider sat on the other side, feeding on a large bird that had stumbled onto its web. There didn't seem to be any other monstrous arachnids around.

"Can I try to control it?" I asked Cereus.

"You may. But be prepared to run if you cannot."

I took a deep breath and blew a note on the whistle, sending my thoughts out to the enormous arachnid. It jumped at the intrusion to its mind and stopped eating. I began sweating during the moment where the spider didn't respond to me. But after a moment it obeyed my commands and began swaying from side to side. The centaurs watched in awe as the spider began dancing, moving its many legs in a rhythmic pattern. Then I commanded the spider to follow us back to Hogwarts.

I had a plan in mind.

* * *

On the way back, I explained my use of telepathy. I had worded my last command so that the spider would not harm us, even if I released it from my control. In return they explained the spider's level of intelligence, including the fact that it could speak. I was amazed. The first thought that popped into my mind was that I should bring this monster back to the Cirque. But then I thought about having to _feed_ it. It would take a lot more than a slice of pizza to feed this giant!

The Quidditch game was long over when I returned to the castle. Night had fallen and it was nearly curfew. But I still had some work to do. I scaled the walls of the school until I reached the familiar seventh floor corridor. After I had made sure the spider was still under my control, I paced up and down the hallway three times, concentrating on what I needed. I made a short tune on the pipe and watched as the spider crawled through the door that had just appeared. I then observed the door vanishing seconds later. Grinning, I headed back to my common room.

* * *

I didn't wake up as early as I had planned, but since it was a Saturday, I didn't mind. Instead of heading to the Great Hall like I normally would, I headed upstairs, to the Room of Requirement. I took out the pipe Sonorous had given me and prepared myself for anything. Crossing my fingers, I blew a tune on the pipe. The spider crawled out of the room after a second's hesitation and crawled out of the same window it entered last night. After checking for any possible spectators, I jumped out of the window and tensed myself for the landing. My extra strong bones didn't break when I landed, but it hurt. A lot.

With a groan and a huge heave, I picked myself off of the ground. I stretched and winced as my bones creaked. The spider scampered ahead of me, heading for its predetermined destination –the Great Hall. Most of the students in the Great Hall were either studying or pushing around their breakfasts. But when the first scream rang out, total chaos ensued.

Students scrambled out of the hall, trying to get away from the spider that was headed towards the front table. Ron was being dragged out of the room by Harry and Neville, since he seemed to have fainted. The arachnid made its way up the rows of tables and stopped when it reached Umbridge.

I pulled the flute back out and began playing, causing the spider to cocoon the toad-like woman in thick strands of web. Then it picked her up and carried her to the top of the hall, where it stuck her to the ceiling. Muffled screams could be heard from inside the cocoon, through the small holes left for her to breathe from.

After making sure that she was securely stuck on the ceiling, the spider left, returning to its home.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, no one made a move to help Umbridge, even after the spider's leave was confirmed. Peeves floated around her all day, throwing things at her exposed face. It wasn't until dinner that Professor McGonagall released Umbridge from the ceiling, muttering that she didn't want anybody to lose their appetites.

I spent the rest of the day studying with Ernie. O.W.L.S were approaching fast, so all fifth years were taking as much time as they could to study. I wasn't too concerned about passing them, but I _might _need to stay another semester, incase our plan doesn't fall through soon. Ernie was a tough studying companion. If he had been my tutor when I was at Mahler's, I would have been the top of my class. Every time I got a question wrong, he would give me a short shock with his wand. That way I learned the answers faster. I was glad when it was my turn to do the questioning, but Ernie got most of them right, so very little shocking was used.

Monday brought a beautiful day. The sun was shining in a cloudless blue sky. The grass outside my common room's window displayed beautiful green fields that were dipping under a slight wind. None of this excited me though. It only made the dawning of the O.W.L.S so much worse.

* * *

**O.W.L.S! Finally! It seems like just yesterday Darren was hunting with Larten the wolf. I must give credit to my friend Alice, who suggested I put spiders in the food. I took the idea a bit further, but I don't think she'll mind ;)**


	20. OWLS

**Hey guys! I had planned to update this on my birthday, but my laptop decided to give me a pleasant surprise; breaking. So I had to rewrite this. But hey! At least I got it updated :D **

**Thanks to all my amazingly, super-mega-foxy-awesome-great reviewers! **

**Reviewers will receive a plush acromantula and a package of edible snitches :D**

* * *

Chapter Twenty:

"OH LOOK! LACK OF A GOOD CHAPTER NAME!"

The air was full of tension that morning. Silence was prominent among the fifth and seventh years, who were mostly spent the morning pushing their breakfasts around on their plates. I was going over the spells that Ernie and I had reviewed this past week in my head. Ernie meanwhile was being completely saccadic. Every few seconds he would reach down, as if to pull something out of his bag, and then mutter 'no, no' to himself before repeating the process.

Charms was the first test, and went by pretty smoothly. My egg cup decided to show off and added a back-hand-spring into the series of cartwheels it was supposed to be doing, but the examiner seemed more impressed than anything, so I didn't mind. Transfiguration wasn't quite as easy, but I think I managed to snag an Acceptable.

The O.W.L.s for Herbology and D.A.D.A were taken the next day. During the practical part of the exam, Harry conjured a patronous. My examiner stopped to watch the stag gallop across the hall.

"A corporeal patronous," the elderly witch mumbled to herself.

"Do I need to do one?" I asked.

"_Can _you?" the witch said, watching Harry walk out of the room.

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

"Show me then," she instructed. "For bonus."

I drew my wand and thought back to the memory I had used to conjure my patronous last time. When the warm, happy feeling had spread through me entirely, I flicked my wand and shouted the incantation.

"_Expecto Patronum_!"

A silvery acromantula burst from the tip of my wand. The glowing spider crawled across the room and disappeared after a minute, leaving shreds of silver vapor that snuck into the air. The witch peered at me from behind thick glasses.

"Very good," she said. "You may go now."

I waltzed back into the great hall, where most of the students were discussing their mishaps and accomplishments during the exams. I took a seat at the Hufflepuff table and nibbled on a pastry that was sitting on the long table along with a few other snacks. I had my Muggle Studies test right after I ate my snack. It was unsurprisingly easy. The practical bit of the examination consisted of telling a telephone and a light bulb apart.

Potions and Care of Magical Creatures were both challenging. The hedgehogs _and_ the knarl scurried away from me when I offered them milk, which was unsurprising. The examiner still gave me full marks, since I proved that I knew how to tell them apart. Our potion's exam wasn't too bad, but I gave myself a nasty burn trying to relight the fire under my cauldron.

Thankfully I didn't have Astronomy, because halfway through the practical examination, Hagrid was attacked by Ministry wizards. He managed to escape, but Professor McGonagall wasn't so lucky. She had been stunned five times, which was dangerous for a young person. Needless to say, she would lay in the hospital wing for days.

I only had one test on the last day, which was for the History of Magic class. The test was dreadfully boring. Around me I could see others falling asleep, including Harry…

* * *

Third Person Point of View 

_Harry was riding on the back of a giant eagle owl. Below him, the country side stretched, the sun hanging lazily in the west. He and the owl were fast approaching a large, glossy manor. With a screech, the owl flew into an open window, landing before a strange, snake-like man. The man smiled as he read the letter that had been previously perched inside the owl's beak. As he reached the end of the letter, he let out a high, cold laugh that pierced Harry's ears. Then he pulled a wand from his pocket. He turned and pointed it at a figure who Harry had not noticed until now. _

"_Where is it?!" Voldemort hissed._

"_You'll never get it," the man said, laughing. _

"_CRUCIO!" Voldemort shouted, watching the man jerk this way and that as the spell sent his body through an incredible amount of pain. _

_The man continued laughing, even as droplets of blood began trailing down his chin. _

"_You'll have to kill me," replied the man. _

"_Oh, yes," Voldemort replied. "There is no doubt that I will in the end. But for now… We have all night, with no one to hear you scream."_

_He raised his wand again._

* * *

Normal Point of View 

"NOOOOO!" screamed Harry, who was a few rows over from where I was sitting.

He was on the floor, clutching his face in agony. Students around me looked confused, some even scared, but I knew what had just happened; Harry just had another vision.

My eyes met Ron and Hermione, who nodded. We waited a minute before leaving the exam room at different times. Hermione waited outside the hall for me, since I didn't know the password to Gryffindor Tower.

"D'you have any idea what that was about?" I asked her, breaking the silence.

"None," she replied honestly. "But it can't be good"

We dashed up the stairs with renewed vigor. We reached Ron, who had doubled over in exertion and coaxed him into running up the last flight of stairs. He followed with a grumble and seemed relieved when we saw Harry at the end of the marble corridor.

"Harry!" said Hermione, fear snaking its way into her voice. "What happened? Are you alright? Are you ill?"

"Where have you been," Ron demanded, noting that he had _not_ come from the portrait hole near us.

"Come with me," He said. "Come on, I've got to tell you something…"

We followed him to an empty class room, where he faced us and said, "Voldemort's got Sirius."

"_What_?"

"Are you sure?"

"How d'you–"

"Saw it. Just now," Harry explained. "When I fell asleep in the exam."

"But –where? How?" said a white faced Hermione.

"I dunno how," he replied. "But I know where; Malfoy Manor. There's this room in their house, a tower, where Voldemort is staying. He's trying to use Sirius to find out where the weapon is… He's torturing him… Says he'll end it by killing him…"

"Wait," I said. "What weapon?"

Hermione glanced at me and said, "There's this thing that Dumbledore gave to Harry during summer break. We think it's a weapon, but we aren't sure–"

"We can worry about that later!" Harry interjected. "How are we going to get there?"

We all stared at him.

"Get into Malfoy Manor, so we can rescue Sirius!" he said loudly.

"But –Harry…" said Ron weakly.

They were both staring at him with disbelieving faces, but I was formulating a plan…

"What? _What_?" said Harry.

"Harry…" Hermione said worriedly. "How did Sirius get into Malfoy's house with all the enchantments around?"

"How do I know?" bellowed Harry. "The question is how _we're_ going to get in there!"

"But… Harry, think about this," said Hermione. "The Malfoy's are an old, rich family. Their house has got to be chocked full of spells and protective charms!"

"I dunno, He got out of Azkaban, didn't he?" Harry shouted. "Anyway, we've got to find a way–"

"Harry! They're just dreams!" Hermione protested.

"They're not normal dreams!" he replied angrily. "How d'you explain Ron's dad, then, what was that all about, how come I knew what happened to him?"

"He's got a point," Ron said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"But this is just –just so unlikely!" said Hermione. "Harry, how on earth could Voldemort have gotten hold of Sirius if he's been in Grimmauld Place this whole time?"

"Maybe Dumbledore let him go on watch and he got caught?" Harry said desperately. "He's wanted to get out of that house for ages–"

"But why would Voldemort expect Sirius to know where the weapon, or whatever the thing is, is?"

"I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!"

"Why don't we find out if he's at home or not first!?" I shouted, adding my two cents.

"Look, I'm sorry," Hermione said, "but none of this makes sense. We have no proof–"

"Hermione, Harry's seen them!" Ron said, spinning to face her.

"Okay," she said, looking scared and certain. "But I've just got to say this…"

"What?"

"You… this isn't a criticism, Harry! But you do… sort of… I mean –don't you think you've got a bit of a –a _saving-people-thing_?"

"And what's that supposed to mean, a 'saving-people-thing'?

"Well… you…" she said, looking uneasy. "I mean… last year, for instance… in the lake… during the Tournament… you shouldn't have saved that Delacour girl…. You got a bit… carried away."

I watched apprehensively as Harry grew angrier. What they were talking about, I wasn't sure, but I knew that Hermione had just hit a nerve.

"… I mean, it was really great of you and everything," said a terrified Hermione. "Everyone thought it was a wonderful thing to do–"

"That's funny," Harry seethed, "because I definitely remember Ron saying I'd wasted time_ acting the hero_… Is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero again?"

"No, no, no!" said a petrified Hermione. "That's not what I mean at all!"

"Well spit out what you've got to say, because we're wasting time here."

"I'M SAYING, WHAT IF IT'S A TRAP?!" she busted out, looking relieved and slightly embarrassed.

"What do you mean a trap?" said Harry, thoroughly confused.

"Voldemort knows you Harry! Remember when he used Ginny to lure you down into the Chamber of Secrets?"

"It doesn't matter if he's took him to get to me or not –they've taken McGonagall to Mungo's, there isn't anyone left from the Order at Hogwarts to help! If we don't get there fast, Sirius is dead!"

"Harry," Hermione said in a small voice. "What if your dream was just that –a dream?"

"YOU DON'T GET IT!" Harry roared. "VOLDEMORT'S GOT MY GODFATHER, THE ONLY PERSON I HAVE LEFT, AND HE'S GOING TO KILL him. IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO PRETEND THAT I HAVEN'T SEEN, THAT I DON'T KNOW–"

The door opened then, cutting off Harry's words. Ginny walked in, closely followed by a spacey Luna Lovegood.

"Hi," Ginny said uncertainly. "We recognized Harry's voice –what are you yelling about?"

"Never you mind," Harry said roughly.

"There's no need to take that tone with me," Ginny said with raised eyebrows. "I was only wondering whether I could help."

"Well you can't, Harry said bluntly.

"You're being rather rude, you know," Luna said calmly.

Harry swore and faced away from us.

"Wait," Hermione said suddenly. "Wait… Harry they _can _help.

We all stared at her.

"Wait. Hear me out, what if they distract Umbridge long enough for us to get into her office to see if Sirius is still at headquarters."

"I've told you, I saw–"

"Harry, I'm begging you, please!" Hermione cried. "We can't just go wandering off to Voldemort's headquarters without knowing whether it's a trap or not! If we find out that he's not at home –if we find out he's not there then I swear I won't try to stop you. I'll come, I'll d-do whatever it takes to try and save him–"

"But we haven't got time to waste!"

"We have to! Look, we'll draw Umbridge away, but we need lookouts, and that's where we can use Ginny and Luna."

"Fine," Harry said aggressively. "If you can think of a way to do this quickly, I'm with you, otherwise I'm going to Malfoy's right now–"

"Malfoy's house?" Luna said, bewildered. "But how are you going to get there?"

No one answered her.

"Right," said Hermione, wringing her hands. "Right… well… We can split into pairs. One pair needs to find Umbridge and head her off. Keep her away. You could tell her –I don't know… That Peeves is up to something awful as usual."

"I'll do it," Ron said at once. "I'll tell her Peeves is smashing up the Transfiguration Department or something, it's miles away from her office."

"I'll come with you," I offered immediately. "But first I need to get something from my trunk."

"Okay," said Hermione. "Come to the corridor where Umbridge's office is. After you've sent her away."

"Alright," I replied.

Ron and I hurried to the group of barrels that marked the entrance to my common room. Ron stayed outside while I ran in. My dormitory was mercifully empty. I downed a bottle of blood and then reached inside the hidden compartment of my trunk and pulled out my sword. Luckily, my long black robes concealed the weapon. Reaching into my trunk, I pulled out one of the goodies Fred and George had given me, just in case. I hurriedly scrawled a note and sent it with Austin, who was thankfully in the room. After he left with my message, I climbed out of the barrel and met with Ron.

"What'd you need?" he asked.

"It's a surprise," I said.

"Okay…" He replied. "Let's go find Umbridge."

We found Umbridge prowling around the third floor, with several members of the Inquisitorial Squad by her side.

"PROFESSOR!" Ron yelled, running up to the toad-like woman.

I followed him, faking a pant to make it look like I had just run all the way from the Transfiguration Department. Ron followed my lead, a little too late.

"What do you need?" she said, scrutinizing us with bulging eyes.

"It's Peeves," Ron gasped out. "He's gone on a rampage in the Transfiguration department."

"Is that so?" she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah," I panted.

"_Hem, Hem_," she coughed. "Let's go see if we can stop him, his expulsion should be arriving soon anyways…"

She and her minions marched down the hallway. When they had turned corner, Ron and me shared a relieved glance. But just as we turned to walk away, two loud voices yelled from behind us.

"Stupefy!" the first voice shouted.

"Impedimenta!" the second roared.

Ron crashed to the floor next to me. I felt as if I was moving in slow motion. The caster said the spell again, effectively stilling me. A large, beefy Slytherin hauled me up roughly. After gagging me, he dragged me to Umbridge's office, the other members picking up Luna, Ginny and Neville on the way in.

We were halted outside the door due to Neville's sudden burst of bravery. He writhed in the arms of the large Slytherin holding him, trying to break free. The boy simply grabbed him by the back of the head and pushed him into the office. We were dragged in shortly after.

"Got 'em all," the boy said, in a deep, gravelly voice. "That one," he said, pointing his finger at Neville, "tried to keep me from taking her."

He pointed at a squirming Ginny, who was being held captive in the arms of a large girl.

"Good, good," Umbridge said, watching Ginny. "Well it looks as though Hogwarts will shortly be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?"

Malfoy laughed loudly as Umbridge sat in a cushy armchair. Umbridge flashed him a smile.

"So, Potter," Umbridge said sweetly. "You stationed lookouts around my office and you sent these two buffoons to tell me that the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration Department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes, Mr. Filch having just informed me so.

"Clearly it was very important…"

Tuning her out, I began thinking of an escape plan. I tried twitching my finger discreetly, to see if the spell had worn off any, and mercifully, I could move my finger perfectly. This must have been the resistance that Mika was talking about. My recovery time for two spells seemed to be shorter than a normal human's time for one. Ron had been un-stunned when we entered the room; I supposed that Umbridge wanted him to see Harry get caught.

I watched passively as Professor Snape walked into the room and spoke with Umbridge. His part in the Order had slipped my mind until Harry relayed the message about Sirius to him. Unfortunately, Snape either didn't know what Harry was talking about or didn't care, because he left us with Umbridge.

Hermione confused me with minutes later by saying that the weapon was in the forest. I had sworn she mentioned Harry getting it from his dormitory as we were leaving the classroom we met in earlier. But, I seemed to have underestimated her intelligence again, because she managed to lure Umbridge out of the office, leaving us with the Inquisitorial Squad. One their footsteps had faded away, I shared a glance with Ginny. Understanding passed through her and she doubled her efforts to escape. Thinking fast, I flipped the brute holding me over my head, smashing him into the wall of ceramic cat plates, which hissed at the flying Slytherin. The others took advantage of the conscious Slytherin's confusion and broke free of their captives. I dashed to Malfoy and ripped our wands out of his pocket, hitting him on the side of the head for good measure. I threw each owner their respective wands.

Ginny reacted the fastest, yelling, "_Turpi facie!_" and pointing her wand at the barley conscious Draco Malfoy.

A mass of bat wings grew out of his face, flapping wildly. Ron stunned Crabbe, one of Malfoy's cronies, after receiving a nasty hit to the lip. Eventually, the whole squad was out for the count, many of them supporting gruesome hexes.

"We need to go to the forest," I announced. "That's where Hermione said the 'weapon' was."

"Yes," replied Luna happily. "And I think I know a way to the manor…"

"That's great Luna," Ginny said, dismissing the girl. "But we've got to get to Harry and Hermione… Who knows what she'll do to them."

We made our way to the edge of the forest, where we saw a ruffled looking Hermione walking, followed shortly by Harry.

"…how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?"

"Yeah, we were just wondering that," Ron said. "So," he began, giving Harry his wand. "had any ideas?"

"How did you get away?" Harry asked in amazement.

"Couple of stunners, a flipped Slytherin, a nice little Impediment Jinx from Neville," he said casually. "But Ginny's Bat-Bogey-Hex –it was superb, she got Malfoy. His face is covered in these great flapping things. What have you done with Umbridge?"

"She got carried away by a herd of centaurs."

"And they left you behind?" Ginny asked.

"They usually don't attack cubs –I mean kids," I replied.

"No, it wasn't that," Harry said. "They got chased off by Grawp."

"Who's Grawp?" Luna asked interestedly.

"Hagrid's little brother," Ron said promptly. "Anyway, never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has You-Know-Who got Sirius or –"

"Yes," Harry replied, "and I'm sure he's still alive, but I don't see how we're going to get there to help him.

"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" Luna said in an almost matter-of-fact way.

* * *

***looks at keyboard and curses slow typyness* Whew, that was a decently long one! Tell me your thoughts please :D **


	21. Mind Your Manors

J**ust 'cause I feel like I need one of these randomly: All rights to Harry Potter and Darren Shan Saga go to their respectful owners. All I own is Austin the bat…**

**(p.s thanks to all my reviewers! Especially the ones who have stuck with me this far!)**

* * *

Chapter 21:

"Mind Your Manors" (wow. Now I've resorted to lame puns?)

"Okay," Harry muttered angrily, spinning to face Luna, "first of all, 'we' aren't doing anything thing if you're including yourself in that, and second of all, Ron's the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so–"

"We've got brooms!" Ginny interjected, gesturing between herself and me.

"Yeah, but you're not coming," Ron said, rather rudely.

"Excuse me, but I care about what happens to Sirius as much as you do," Ginny said at the same time that I said, "Why shouldn't I come?"

"You lot are too–"

"Too what?" I prompted. "I'm the oldest one here," I pointed out –which was completely true.

"Yeah," supported Ginny. "And I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know-Who over the Sorcerer's Stone," she added fiercely, "and it's because of me Malfoy's stuck back in Umbridge's office with giant flying bogeys attacking him–"

"Yeah, but–"

"We were all in the D.A. together," Neville reminded Harry, voice barely a whisper. "It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real –or was that all just a game or something?"

"No –of course it wasn't–" Harry said impatiently.

"Then we should come too," Neville supplied simply, "we want to help."

"That's right," Luna smiled.

Harry seemed to have a moment of thought.

"Well it doesn't matter anyways," he grumbled, "because we still don't know how to get there–"

"I thought we said that," Luna said, calm as ever. "We're flying!"

"Look," said Ron, anger hidden behind his words, "you might be able to fly without a broomstick, but the rest of us can't sprout wings when-ever we–"

"There are other ways of flying than with broomsticks," she replied serenely.

"I s'pose we're just going to ride of the back of the Kacky Snorgle or whatever it is?" Ron replied rudely.

The Crumple-Horned Snorkack can't fly," Luna said, not deterred in the least.  
But _they _can, and Hagrid says they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for."

I turned at the sound of a snort. Two gleaming, black horses stood at the edge of the trees, intelligent white eyes watching us. I gazed at them for a moment before following Harry's lead and walking over to pat one of the winged beasts. Hagrid had taught our class about these horses, the same day that he was first inspected by Professor Umbridge. They were called thestrals, and only those who had seen death could see them.

"Is it those mad horse things?" Ron said, slightly frightened. "Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?"

"Yeah," Harry replied.

"How many?"

"Two," I supplied.

"Well, we need three," said Hermione determinedly.

"Four, Hermione," Ginny scowled.

"I think there are seven of us, actually," replied Luna.

Don't be stupid, we can't all go!" Harry yelled. "Look, you four" –he gestured to Neville, Ginny, Luna and I–"you're not involved in this, you're not–"

"And what makes you think you care more than we do? We don't want Sirius any deader than you!" I protested, listening as the others did as well.

"Okay fine, it's your choice" Harry muttered, looking peeved. "But unless we can find more thestrals, you're not going to be able–"

"Oh, more of them will come," Ginny stated.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because in case you hadn't noticed, you and Hermione are both covered in blood," she pointed out, "and we know Hagrid lures thestrals with raw meat, so that's probably why these two turned up in the first place…"

She was right, of course. Harry and Hermione both reeked of the blood splattered on their robes –blood which was currently getting licked off.

"Okay then," Harry said, suddenly happy. "Ron and I will take these two and go ahead–"

"That's a load of crap, and you know it," I butted in.

"There's no need," Luna smiled. "Look, here come more now… you two must really smell…"

Over half a dozen thestrals were lumbering towards us, their bat-like wings curled onto their backs.

"Alright," Harry grumbled. "Pick one and get on, then."

After helping Hermione and Ron find thestrals, we mounted the horse-like creatures.

"Urm, you can just follow them," I told the horse, watching Harry take off.

I braced myself for takeoff, after seeing how swift the creatures moved. Within a few seconds, I was gliding over Hogwarts, my face pressed into the collar of the unusual equestrian. As the countryside flew past me, I thought up a plan of action. How was I supposed to pull out a sword and_ not_ seem suspicious? The only thing I could think of was claiming that I took it off of one of the walls.

Another thought that had been pestering my brain was: How on earth was I supposed to find my comrades? I assumed that they were kept at Malfoy Manor, Voldemort's headquarters, but _where? _Such a large place was sure to have a thousand hiding places, and an important political figure wouldn't keep hostages in his living room.

The sun set over our adventure as we sailed over various towns. Hours and hours later, our rides began their descent. We approached a manor that sent a glow of yellow over the extensive lawn in front of it. Not one soul was haunting the stunning garden, nor could anyone be seen stalking in front of the manor's many windows.

Our thestrals touched the ground. It took a minute for me to find my bearings and remove my legs from the horse's back. I jumped off and tried to walk the stiffness out of my legs. Ron's approach was less subtle –he simply toppled off of his thestral. Cursing slightly, he picked himself up off the ground. There were a few nervous giggles at his sudden plunge to the ground, which was good –the tension in the air was tangible.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

"We get in, get Sirius and get out," Harry said bluntly, marching towards the mansion.

"Wait," I said. "That's it? What if we run into Death Eaters?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Harry," Hermione protested. "We really should think of a better plan than that."

"We haven't got time!" Harry raved quietly. "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Well, we won't be of much use dead, now will we?" Ginny intruded.

"Fine!" Harry half-shouted. "Then what do you propose we do?"

"Er, well," Neville said meekly. "We can bribe them?"

Harry's head snapped over to Neville's direction. "What?"

"Well… um, you've got that weapon thing, don't you?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I was thinking that… that we could exchange it for Sirius?"

"That's brilliant," I said. "As long as we have that weapon, we have a get out free card."

"But what if it gets stolen?" Luna inquired.

"Then we fight like hell," I replied bluntly.

* * *

Out of all of us, I think that Hermione was the most afraid. The hand that clenched her wand trembled as she gripped the stick that might soon be the difference between life and death for her. I felt the stomach turning tension that I always felt before a battle. Ron's eyes were shifting from place to place quickly, spinning at a rate comparable to Mad-Eye's. Luna's face was eerily calm, as if we were heading to a tea party rather than a death trap. Neville was keeping a brave face, trying to imitate Harry's determined expression, but his fear was seeping through.

It was with this attitude that our ragtag army marched up to the manor. We treaded carefully, expecting an alarm to sound at any second, but so far no such occurrence had hindered us.

If it weren't for the fact that I was dealing with human children, I would have suggested we split up, to help our stealth, but I couldn't defend myself, two kids, _and_ find the missing generals. So for now I would have to stick with the group and hope that the luck of the vampires was with me.

In front of me, Neville stopped in his tracks, nearly causing me to run into him.

"Neville?" I whispered. "What on earth are you doing?!"

"Look," he replied, "there's a tornado shelter over there."

"Let me check it out," I replied.

I walked up to the ancient doors and pulled at the handles. They were solid snake wood, and extremely heavy. No human would have been able to lift them, but human I was not. With a groaning noise that made me wince, I managed to open one of the thick doors. A small, dirt tunnel snaked below me. It smelled dry and seemed unused.

"It's cramped, but we can squeeze through," I announced.

"I'll go first," Ron volunteered, puffing out his chest.

"No," I replied. "I'll go first. I'm the biggest, so if I don't fall in, you guys won't either."

They agreed, albeit with a bit of reluctance. I really wanted to be first because I wanted to be able to hear what was ahead, and give the others a chance to run out if need be. The tunnel seemed sturdy, as if it were being used by something other than humans. The putrid smell of a deceased animal and mildew hung in the air, clouding my lungs with a foul stench. Thankfully, we were only in the dreaded place for a few minutes, before the tunnel let out behind a boiler. Under the boiler a nest of rags lay, causing my mind to tug at the edges of a memory.

I ignored the rags and looked at the rest of the room. It appeared that this room was less kept than the rest of the house. The large boiler showed a rusty orange underneath a patchwork of peeling grey paint. The floor was concrete, with a thick layer of dust and soot. A set of stairs led out of the room, flickering eerily in the light of the fire.

"This way," Harry whispered, pointing to the stairs.

We clambered up the stairs. Neville nearly ran into Harry when Harry stopped at the door. I grabbed his arm, keeping him from tumbling to the ground. He began stuttering a thank you, but Harry silenced him with a sharp glare.

Harry placed his ear against the door, listening for people walking nearby. I listened to, and was relieved to find that our current area was empty. He opened the door, trying to make the rusty hinges squeak as little as possible. A long corridor was exposed to us. A dim glow of flame cast shadows on the intricately carved lanterns they sat in. Our hallway branched off into three smaller hallways, which presumably led do different sections of the large manor. I glanced at Harry, who seemed to be contemplating our surroundings.

"We'll have to split up, won't we?" Luna said.

"It seems like it," Hermione replied.

"I'll go with Hermione," Ron said.

"No," Hermione replied. "You go with Luna and Ginny. I'll go with Neville."

Ron reluctantly agreed to her change in plans and walked over to Luna. It made sense, pairing Neville with Hermione. She was the smartest, and would be the best equipped to get him out of a sticky situation. That left me with Harry. He gave me a nod and headed for the branch on the left. I followed behind him quickly, glancing back in time to see Neville trip over his own feet as he made his way down the middle corridor.

"Should we check the rooms?" I asked Harry.

"No," He muttered, not slowing down. "Sirius is with Voldemort somewhere, not sitting pretty in some room–"

"But there could be others here too," I pointed out.

"We haven't got time to–"

"So we just leave them here to suffer?"

"Okay, fine," Harry agreed. "But I doubt anyone will be in any of these rooms," he said, opening a door. "Look here. This is just some kind of storage."

I glanced inside the open door. A pile of things, ranging from trousers to a fancy looking ornament sat.

"Wait," I said, seeing a familiar symbol glaring at me. "Look at this."

I held up a silver plate, which had the mark known as the crest of the House of Black.

"So? Harry remarked, taking the plate from me. "I'm sure that there are loads of these floating around. The Black family has been around for ages."

"If you say so," I said skeptically, noting how the plate was spotless, without a speck of dust on it.

I put the plate back down, and we continued our way through the maze of hallways. At one point, a glimmer caught my eye, sending me into a defensive mode. But my alarm was unnecessary. It was only the glittering eye of one of the stone serpents that adorned the lanterns.

I had just calmed when I heard a slight hissing noise. My mind immediately went back to the hall of fire. Reacting by instinct, I jumped across the hall, pulling Harry with me. It was good that I did this, because, less than half a second later, a splattering noise sounded. I stood up and examined the wall. Small fangs impaled the wall paper, venom dripping off of them, sizzling whatever it touched. Harry sat up on the ground and shook his head, glasses askew.

"Thanks," he said, seeming as if he was confused as to how he ended up on the floor.

"No problem," I replied, extending a hand to help him up. "We've got to be on guard. Who knows what else is lying around here…"

He nodded and we resumed our journey, measuring each step carefully. At one point, we found a section of floor that acted like quicksand. Somehow, Harry managed to change it back to normal, green carpet. A strange hissing and growling noise had come from his mouth, magically making the ground stable.

We slid across the floor carefully, fearing that it might suddenly return to its more treacherous form.

Eventually, we reached a set of stairs, which we climbed hesitantly. There were two new hallways laid out in front of us, one leading to another set of stairs.

"We need to go this way," Harry indicated, gesturing at the stairwell. "Sirius was in a tower."

I held back my protest and nodded. If I'd had it my way, I would have suggested we split up. Voldemort wouldn't keep three vampires hostage in a tower. Suddenly, a loud scream filled the air. Harry recognized the voice at once.

"Hermione!" he yelled, running to her screams.

I followed after him, drawing my wand. We reached Hermione at the edge of the stairs, where she was crumpled on the floor. Neville had his wand drawn, facing the two Death Eaters in front of him.

"_Stupefy_!" Harry shouted, at the same time that I yelled, "_Expulso!"_

Harry's opponent sunk to the ground, while mine's wand exploded. Neville gave a relieved sigh and slumped to the ground, while Harry ran to Hermione's aid. I took the time to knock my opponent out and hide the two bodies in the nearest room. Hermione had been struck by one of the Death Eaters, who had used a strange purple spell on her. Her heart was beating, but the frequency oscillated. We were unsure whether or not she needed immediate attention, but we needed to put her somewhere safe. Harry and Neville half dragged, half carried her to a room a little ways down. We heard footsteps approaching rapidly, so I kept my wand at the ready. The first figure we saw was Ron, closely followed by Ginny and Luna. They were running, dodging what appeared to be spells. Ron was supporting a busted lip, which was bleeding profusely. A small fleet of Death Eaters followed them; among them was the man who could only be Lucius Malfoy. The whole party screeched to a stop in front of us.

"Potter!" one of the Death Eaters screeched. "Someone call the Dark Lord!"

"That would be my job," Malfoy drawled, already pressing on a strange tattoo that decorated his forearm.

Harry collapsed into a heap besides me, groaning and clutching his hand, a notion that made many of the Death Eaters laugh.

"Where is it?" a familiar looking woman asked, eyeing us with scrutiny and derision.

"Where is what?" Neville said, glaring at the woman. "Your brain? Well I think it's somewhere up your ass with the rest of your head."

"And who are you," the witch sneered.

"Neville Longbottom."

Another inundation of laughter sounded. "Is that so?" the condescending witch questioned. "I've had the… honor of meeting your parents."

Neville fumed at the witch, enticing more laughter. He angrily sent a stunning spell at her head, but missed by a few inches. This caught her attention. She too fumed now, as she drew a wand from her pocket.

"Let's see if you last longer than your parents did," she remarked before shouting, "_CRUCIO!"_

The boy fell to the floor, screaming in agony. Ginny charged forwards to help him, but a burly looking Death Eater disarmed her. She attempted to kick the man in the groin as he approached, but the man grabbed her foot and twisted.

The sound of Ginny's screams were added to the mix. Ron angrily charged the Death Eater, struggling to rescue his sister. But another Death Eater intercepted and sent a spell flying at his face. The spell connected and Ron fell to the ground, clutching his face and for some reason, laughing.

"Give me the prophecy, Potter," Lucius commanded, holding out a gloved hand.

"The what…?" Harry said, bewildered. "Oh, you mean this?" He pulled the weapon out of his pocket. "Come any closer and I'll smash it."

"You are in no position to blackmail, boy," a grimy looking man replied.

Ron stood up then, blubbering madly. He saw Harry and grew excited. "Are we playing Quidditch, Harry?" he asked. "That's an awfully big snitch." Harry blinked and stared at Ron, who was approaching him quickly. He grabbed the ball of swirling mist from Harry's hand and threw it to the far side of the hallway. "Hmm… That snitch doesn't fly too good."

Harry, Luna, and I stared at the now broken 'prophecy.' The mist seeped out of the ball, along with words. I couldn't make out what the voice was saying; the din from Neville's screams was too loud.

"No…" Lucius whispered, followed by a louder scream of, "NO!" He turned to Harry. "You will pay for this, boy." He lifted his wand, "CRUICIO!"

Harry fell to the ground too, clutching his forehead as well as gripping the carpet. I decided to take action and pulled my sword out from under my robes. Then, I charged forward, raising my blade so I could bring it down on Malfoy's head, but it never connected.

_"CONGLACIOR!" _a new voice shouted, causing me to freeze in midair.

I struggled to break free of the magic, but found I could only move slightly. I glanced at the others, who were all in a similar position.

Then, the owner of the voice stepped into the light. The instant I saw him, I knew it had to be Voldemort. Red eyes, with cat-like pupils glanced at me quickly, and moved on to stare at the next member of our party. But, before his eyes met the next person, he snapped his head back towards me. Then he laughed, a completely un-humorous sound.

"How did you manage to snag him, Potter?" Voldemort asked in a high pitched, cold voice. "I thought they were staying neutral."

"What?" Harry panted, still out of breath from his screams.

"You mean you don't know?" he inquired. " You've had them among your ranks and you didn't know?"

"Don't know what?"

There was more laughter. "You mean to tell me that you don't know what he is?" he chortled, gesturing to me. I struggled again, trying to get to the man who caused my clan so much trouble.

"Darren?" Harry said, growing increasingly confused.

"Yes," he smiled, "Darren Shan. The Vampire Prince."

* * *

**Well, I had to listen to a lot of 'fighty' music for this chapter. Please tell me how I did. I've never really written a fight scene before. **


	22. Silent Dreams

**Hey guys! It's hard to believe this story has gotten this far. This is technically the final chapter, but I've still got an epilogue to do!**

**Thanks to ****Eca567, Anonymous, Ariana-blood-hehe, Vampirenote13 Anonymous, Kitty-Ally-93, Silver Sleep, prettycolorofpink, atlis and Kanathia for reviewing last chapter!**

**Enjoy! **

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Chapter 22:

"Silent Dreams"

"What!?" Harry said, eyes snapping to me.

"Yes," Voldemort grinned, stepping closer to me. "Originally, I intended to form an alliance with these bloodsuckers, but they turned me down like fools."

"Why would we side with a murderer?" I replied.

He laughed, a sound full of contempt and mockery. "That is right. At the time, I had been unaware of the "honor code" you vampires seem so keen on upholding, amongst other things."

"Who told you this," I inquired, eyes narrowed.

"Let's just say I had a few… informants."

"That is impossible," I voiced. "No vampire would ever willingly betray the clan."

"Ah," he replied, taping his head. "The primitive mind of you creatures may be heavily armored, but, to one with such power as I, it is possible to see through that armor."

"Is that how you know who I am?"

"Yes, I did not get a clear picture of everything, but one of the more recent memories of these vampires included a few important names, yours being one of them."

While he rambled on about his prowess in scanning the minds of my generals, I was working on an escape plan. I could feel my control coming back as the sword grew heavier in my hands, but I left no indications suggesting that his spell could not hold me permanently.

"But Darren goes in the sun all the time," Luna said calmly. "And he doesn't have an adversary to oranges."

"Oranges…?" Voldemort repeated, before shaking his head and turning away from the strange girl.

"But as I was saying, I found some rather interesting information. Such as–" his words were cut off as a spell flew past his head.

Several wizards, some familiar, some not, ran into the room, casting spells at the Death Eaters. I took the moment to break free of the spell completely. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I lunged at the Death Eater closest to me.

My sword plunged into the burly man's stomach and I dragged it upwards. He fell to his knees and then onto his face, clutching his stomach and shuddering. The faces of those around me were almost comical, especially the new arrivals. I don't know what was going through their minds, seeing a child stab a man in the stomach, but it must have been interesting!

Voldemort took advantage of the momentary stillness and ran out of the room. With his disappearance, the others seemed to become free of the spell. Harry stood up and ran to his godfather, who had been among the new arrivals, and hugged the man tightly. Siruis to hugged him back just as tightly, despite the spells that were flying around the room

Suddenly, Sirius' eyes opened wide, smile still on his face and fell to the ground. As he hit the ground, his body crumbled into dust_._ Behind him, the woman who had taunted Neville stood laughing. Her wand was still pointing in the exact direction that Sirius was standing moments before.

Harry yelled and lunged for the smirking witch. Her face turned from mirthful to indignant in a matter of seconds. Lupin grabbed Harry and pulled him back, yelling into his ear that there was nothing he could do to save Sirius. The witch took this time to run away, her laughter cascading around us. I focused my attention back at the matter at hand. People were dropping on both sides and I needed to do something about that. Moving with vampiric speed, I slashed my sword through any Death Eaters that I could reach. People sent me horrified looks as a spray of blood coated me, but I couldn't worry about that now.

The Order members were slowly pushing the Death Eaters back, despite their inferior numbers. I supposed that they were handling the fight well enough for me to leave. I snuck around the torrent of spells and wizards and headed down the nearest hallway.

* * *

It was time to fulfill my duties, time to find those generals. There was only one problem though: I didn't know where to start. The manor was just so _big. _Countless secret rooms were probably scattered around the place. I wasn't going to find them without help. An idea occurred to me and I wondered around, trying to find the smell of food. After a while, I smelled what must have been the remains of a feast. I followed the smell and came to a large, formal dining room. I knew that there had to be a kitchen nearby, so I searched each of the room's connecting doors.

Thankfully, the kitchen was a few rooms over. Inside, there were old-fashioned ovens. But I was not concerned about the ovens –I was concerned about the creatures running them.

Three of the little guys were running around the kitchen, presumably preparing their masters' next meal. They froze when they saw me. One of the elves stepped closer to me and bowed.

"Hello, sir," said the elf in a squeaky voice. "May Baffy help you?"

"Yes," I replied, "I am looking for three men. They are probably in cages. Do you know where they are?"

The elf nodded. "Yes, sir! Baffy has fed them many times. Master says they is no men, though."

"Okay," I said, nodding in agreement so I wouldn't upset the creature. "Can you take me to them?"

The elf bobbed his head and grabbed my arm, and, before I could do anything, we were both sucked into a tube. Half a second later, we were in another room, one that smelt _terrible_. The room was dark, but after a few minutes my eyes adjusted to the gloom. I could see three small cages, each spread far apart. I walked up to the caged and winced when I saw its inhabitant. The vampire in the caged was emaciated, bones protruding from behind sickly white skin. Without checking, I knew that the other two must be in the same condition. I tapped the bars of the cage, but the vampire didn't stir.

"Can you release them?" I inquired.

"No sir," he replied. "Baffy has to apparate to feed them."

"Could you apparate them out? Your master wants to see them."

"Master wants Baffy to take out the not-men?"

"Yes. He would like it very much if you were to apparate them out of the cages. I am supposed to bring them to him."

"Why doesn't Baffy take them to Master?"

"Your Master won't be pleased to hear you questioning his orders," I warned.

The elf straitened out his pillowcase toga and, with a crack, popped into the first cage. He grabbed the sleeping vampire and popped back to my side. The odd sensation seemed to have woken the general up, because he began groaning softly. I bent down and rolled the man over. He blinked wearily at me, grimaced, and then shut his eyes.

"General," I whispered, pulling a vial of blood from my cloak, "It's me, Darren Shan."

"Prince?" he whispered, staring at me suspiciously. "Impossible. This is another one of your ruses."

"No," I insisted, "I'm here to free you. Here, you need this so you can get away."

"Away?" he croaked. "Now I know you're just trying to get my hopes up."

"Fine," I said louder, watching as Baffy deposited the other two generals in front of me and returned to the kitchens after bowing, "Just go along with it and your punishment will be shorter."

He angled his head so he could see me better, along with the vial of blood. He raised his arm and took the bottle from me. Without even checking to see if it was poisoned, he took a swig of it. His eyes were almost disappointed when he realized he was still breathing. He finished off the bottle and sat up when some of his energy returned.

"Is it really you, Sire Shan?" he asked, looking over at the other two generals.

"Yes," I said quickly," Listen to me. I need you to split the rest of these bottles with the other generals and leave this place as quickly as you can. Have you seen anyone die before?"

"Yes," he replied, sounding worried.

"Okay, then you should be able to see the thestrals," I replied, continuing even though he looked like he wanted to speak. "They are these skeletal horses you'll find near the edge of the woods. Each of you needs to mount one. Tell it you need to go to The Shrieking Shack -it will know how to get there."

"But what about you?"

"I have some unfinished business to take care of. I will meet you and Mr. Crepsley at The Shack"

* * *

After leaving the generals with the remaining bottles of blood, I ran back to where the fight was going on. But I stopped when I reached what seemed to be a second battle. The scene presented to me was awe inspiring. A huge phoenix of water and a snake of fire lunged at each other. With a enormous burst of steam, the two creatures vanished, leaving behind a foggy atmosphere. Through the cloud, I could see the silhouettes of three people. The two on one side must have been Dumbledore and Harry, judging by the tall figure with a billowing beard and the slightly shorter one who was on the ground behind him. Voldemort raised his wand and flicked a spell at Harry. With a cry of, "NO!," I jumped between my friend and the spell, eyes blinded by the brilliant purple.

My world blurred as I flew through the air and darkened once I hit the wall in front of me.

Dumbledore's gasp, Harry's shout, and Voldemort's laughter danced in my head as I fell unconscious.

* * *

I walked through a series of silent images and memories, trying to find the end of them. Currently, I was watching a strange scene unfold in front of me. A bluebird and a milk-snake were attempting to consume each other. But I wasn't concentrated on the images. I was concentrated on the sound, which had finally appeared.

"...you think he's going to be okay?"

"I don't know. He was hit with the same thing I was, but straight on."

"Good thing he is a..."

The sound faded out, leaving me to fume at the scales and feathers floating around me.

* * *

"Darren," a firm voice sounded, "stop this nonsense and wake up. The Hermione girl is fine. Are you really so much of a runt that you cannot recover from getting hit with a purple light?"

"Nguaaah," was my intelligent response.

"Darren," a second voice said," If you can hear me, please indicate it somehow."

"Bluh," I replied.

"You were hit with a Caseus Curse in the arm," he announced. "Normally, a direct hit from this curse kills on contact. You are a very luck man, Mr. Shan."

"Yes," the first voice commented. "Just as lucky and foolish as always."

"Shut it old man," I said.

"Do not think that I am afraid to give you a smack to the head, just because you are injured."

"I'm goin' back to sleep," I mumbled. Then I proceeded to roll over and resume sleeping.

* * *

Darren?" a feminine voice questioned. "Can you hear me? Madame Pompfrey said she was taking you off of the sleeping potion today, so we decided to come visit you."

I dragged my eyelids open and stared at the blurry forms of Hermione, Ron, and Harry, who stood at the foot of the white bed I was laying on. They all seemed excited, yet nervous, to see me awake. As my mind grew clearer, a throbbing pain grew in my right shoulder. I looked at the shoulder, noting the bandaging on it. Curiosity took over and I peeled the wrap back. A black, bruise-like scar decorated my arm. It was about the size of my fist and looked like it wouldn't be healing anytime soon.

"You really shouldn't touch that," Hermione scolded.

"I'll be fine," I said, dismissing her warnings.

I replaced the bandage and looked back at the three Gryffindors, who kept exchanging glances. "Okay, enough beating around the bush. What's bothering you?"

Hermione looked about ready to explode from pent up questions. "Are you really a vampire prince? Is there a vampire king? How can you go out in the sun if you're a vampire? Have you been drinking students' blood this whole time?"

"Yes, no, I'm only half-vampire, and no."

"Half-vampire?" Harry inquired. "Was one of your parents vampire and the other human?"

"No."

"Then how?"

"Painfully." I knew I was being cryptic, but vampires were always a mystery to the wizards, and should stay that way, friends or not. They could sense that I didn't feel like talking about that, so they changed subjects.

"You know," Ron said," you've been out for a whole week. Madame Pompfrey had you on a really strong sleeping potion."

"A week?" I replied.

"Yeah," Harry said. "That spell could have killed you. Why did you jump in front of me?"

"Because you're my friend," I said simply. "So what happened after I fell unconscious?"

All three of them looked shifty. "Er," Harry began. "Well Professor Dumbledore used some of the furniture from Malfoy's house to protect you and he and Voldemort fought more, and then..." he paused, "Voldemort possessed me."

"_Possessed?_" I repeated. "How did you get him out?"

"Well," he replied. "I'm not entirely sure... All I did was think about friends and family -kinda like making a patronus- and then he was gone."

"Hmm..." I said to myself.

"Oh," Hermione said, as if something had just occurred to her, "Professor Dumbledore wants to see you when you think you can walk."

"Why wouldn't I be able to walk?" I asked.

"Well you've been asleep for a week, mate," Ron said. "You're bound to be a bit wobbly."

"I guess..." I replied. Then I stood up and took a step forward. The room pitched uneasily around me, but I held my ground.

With a sigh, I made my way to the headmaster's office.

* * *

**I know it's shorter than the last few have been, but it makes sense to stop it here. **

**-Blood and Guts**

**Rebarbative**


	23. Tying up Loose Ends

**Okay, since this is the last chapter, I want to send a shout out to all of my readers. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my nonsense. Thanks to all future and past reviewers –your input really brightens my day. And…*does a happy dance* I WIN, RACHEL! :D **

**Okay, on with the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

Epilogue:

"Tying Loose Ends"

It wasn't until I reached the stone gargoyles in front of Dumbledore's office that I realized I hadn't asked Harry, Ron, or Hermione for the password. Thankfully, I didn't have to stand in the hallway too long, because Professor Snape had approached the office not long after I did. The professor normally was fond of me, but now he stared at me with worry and, perhaps, fear.

"May I ask what you are doing here, Mr. Shan?" the Potion's Master questioned.

"Professor Dumbledore sent for me, but I forgot to ask for the password," I replied sheepishly.

"Is that so?" he inquired. "I was just in to see the Headmaster. You may follow me." I nodded my thanks as he spoke to one of the gargoyles. "Dribbles' Chewing Gum," he said formally. The two gargoyles sprung out of the way of the door and revealed a handsome staircase, decorated with a sculpted bronze eagle.

I climbed up the stairs with a growing sense of apprehension. For all I knew, I could be locked up in wizard jail for sneaking into the school. I had no idea how the Ministry handled letting magical creatures into Hogwarts. Not to mention the blood on my hands from killing those Death Eaters. We made it to the top of the spiral staircase after a minute or so, and then Professor Snape knocked on the door, using one of the heavy, bronze knockers located on the thick door.

"Come in," Dumbledore's voice called from inside.

Snape pushed open the thick, ancient doors and revealed Dumbledore's large office, which took up several rooms. A small, pathetic looking bird peeped at us from inside a pile of ashes. I blinked and stared at a gold feather that was lodged in the pile. This bird must have been Fawkes, the phoenix who sent Dumbledore a message during Christmas warning us about Umbridge.

Dumbledore sat in his office, which was surprisingly clean for the amount of time it had been unoccupied. Speaking of which, when was Dumbledore put back in office? My mind was growing clearer as the remains of the sleeping potion wore off. He must have been here for a day at least, since I could have sworn I heard him talking with…

A dozen new questions popped into my head as I walked towards Dumbledore's desk.

"Sit down please, Mr. Shan," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the chair directly across from him. Then he turned his attention to Professor Snape. "Ah, Severus," he said with a nod. "It is good that you are here too."

I sat down and prepared to ask Dumbledore a question. He, however, raised a hand to silence me.

"I know you have many questions, but you will have to be patient, Mr. Shan. All questions will be answered shortly. Now I am sure you are wondering why I brought you here. I am also sure you are wondering what _I _am doing here," Dumbledore stated. "To answer the second question, the Minister returned me to my position as headmaster to me as soon as he came to visit Malfoy, due to 'urgent request,' and came face to face with Voldemort as soon as he, and a few other officials, stepped out of the fireplace."

I listened, surprised by this new revelation. What was going to happen to Fudge, now that the Ministry knew that Voldemort was back?

"Now as you can imagine, the wizarding world has been in uproar since last week. Thousands of complaints have been sent to the Ministry, many of them asking for Cornelius' resignation or removal. I have also received several letters. Many of them are apologies –I was even re-invited into the Wizengamot!" he chuckled.

"As for the first question," he began, growing more serious. "I called you into my office to discuss an alliance. I talked to your mentor, Mr. Crepsley, but he said he was not the one to go to for negotiations. Now that Voldemort knows of your cousin clan, he is sure to seek out their help. Also, now that he has been revealed to the public, chances are that attacks will become more and more widespread. I must know. Can the Order of the Phoenix call on the Vampire Clan for help?"

I sighed. Initially, we hoped to stay neutral in this war. But, knowing Steve, he would jump for an alliance with arguably the most powerful wizard in history. Being immersed in the wizarding world for a year had caused me to form bonds with several of the members in it. I felt in my heart that I should accept the offer, and hadn't Mr. Tiny said to follow my heart to get to the Vampaneze Lord?

"I accept," I said firmly.

"Excellent," Dumbledore replied. "Now I have decided to send a few professors to your base. That is where you come in," he said, turning to the silent Potion's Master. "I have decided to assign you, Minerva, and Remus Lupin to the task." Snape scowled at the last mention. "I know you have enmity with Remus, but you need to put these childish rivalries behind you. He is best suited to the task, since he knows how half-breeds and magical creatures are treated in our society first hand."

"I understand, Albus," Severus responded. "But what will we be teaching them and when?"

"I plan to send you off for this summer," he began. "I have also called in a favor from Ollivander. He has agreed to take a large selection of wands on the journey, but he will leave after supplying them. Darren, would your people have a way to pay him?"

"Not in wizard money, no," I responded. "But our mountain has many riches in it. Plus, vampire hair may make a good wand core."

"That is acceptable," Dumbledore nodded. "I will send word to him immediately. I'm afraid I'll have to use an owl though. Fawkes is currently unable to fly."

"Does he really burst into flame randomly?" I said curiously.

"Usually, yes," Dumbledore said. "But in this case, he died protecting me."

"Headmaster," Snape interrupted. "I see one hole in your plan."

"Oh? What is that, Severus?"

"How are we going to get to this 'mountain'? Surely you do not expect us to walk there? Ollivander is not up to the task of walking down the street, much less up to the task of hiking up a mountain."

"I sent a request to Madame Maxime yesterday, asking if she would allow us to borrow her carriage."

"Is Mr. Shan coming with us? I do not see how we are supposed to tell this mountain apart from the others."

"That is entirely up to him. I have spoken to his generals, who say they will accompany you as soon as they are well enough to travel."

"The generals are here?" I said, perking up. "Are they okay?"

"Yes," Dumbledore answered. "They are in a walled off section of the Hospital Wing, so that the sun's rays do not harm them. They have improved considerably under Madame Pomfrey's nursing, but they are still exceptionally weak. Now I do believe the end of year feast will begin soon. It would be wise for us both to attend. I am sure your friends are anxious to see if you are alright."

"Do they know that I'm a half-vampire?"

"Oh yes," he smirked. "I am sure that the news has spread around the school quickly. But I doubt something as trivial as being part vampire will stand in the way of Hufflepuff loyalty, don't you agree?"

And with a wink, he swept down the stairwell, closely followed by Snape. I stood for a moment, trying to catch my bearings, until a portrait yelled out at me.

"Don't just stand there like some half-witted fool," a snide voice chided. "Go attend the feast. Enjoy the freedom while you can. It won't last long with this war coming up."

I took the portrait's advice and headed to the Great Hall. A hush settled over the hall when I walked in, but was broken by Justin.

"Darren!" he shouted. "I saved you a seat!"

I smiled and walked over to the Hufflepuff table and sat between Justin and Hannah. It seemed Dumbledore was right. Sure, some students seemed scared, but most were just as welcoming as always.

"So you aren't scared that I might drink your blood?" I joked, elbowing Justin.

"Nope," he replied smugly. "I just ate a huge helping of spaghetti."

We laughed and dug into our meal.

* * *

After I finished my meal, I walked over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron and Hermione sat, looking quite unusual without Harry by their side. I sat down across from them.

"Where's Harry?" I asked.

"Well, he hasn't been the same since his godfather died," Hermione said sadly.

"I don't blame him," Ron said around a mouth full of food. "He just lost the last member of his real family. It's going to take him a while to recover."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "I just wish he would talk to us about it."

"He will eventually," I said, remembering my first few months after leaving my family. "Just give him some time to heal."

"Have you packed yet?" Hermione asked, switching the topic.

"No," I groaned. "I've been busy talking to Dumbledore."

"Oh yeah," Ron said, "What was that all about?"

"He wanted to make an alliance with the vampires," I said, leaning forwards so only they could hear me.

Ron's jaw dropped. "Did you agree?"

I shrugged. "We've got nothing to lose. Voldemort will be after us either way."

"So are you going to stay at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "I'm not sure I'm allowed."

"Why wouldn't you be?" Ron said, momentarily confused.

"One, I'm too old to be a student. Two, the Ministry might not let me stay."

"How old are you, exactly?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure," I said truthfully, "the latter half of my twenties, I think."

"That's not too bad, I guess," Hermione shrugged. "I was thinking you'd be way older."

"No," I replied. "I am currently the youngest vampire I know.

"Really?" Ron replied. "That must stink."

"Yeah," I smirked, thinking of Vancha. "Being surrounded by a bunch of old smelly guys does stink."

"I resent that," said a voice from behind me. I spun around in my seat and came face to face with my mentor, Mr. Crepsley. "I see that you have finally woken up from your nap."

"Mr. Crepsley," I shouted, and hugged the man tightly, much to his displeasure –but he allowed it.

"Hello brat," he smirked, pushing me away from him and straightening his robes.

"Who's that, Darren," Hermione said timidly.

"This is Mr. Crepsley, my mentor," I replied, gesturing to him.

"Is he a vampire prince too?" Ron said, shrinking back from the intimidating red cloak and long scar.

"No, I am not," Mr. Crepsley replied stiffly. "I have enough to go on about keeping Darren out of trouble."

I smirked at Mr. Crepsley. He hadn't changed a bit. Several students were staring openly at the red clad vampire, but looked away when he met their gazes. He took a seat next to me and grabbed a plate from the table. Then he piled it up with food and began eating it quickly. The few students still watching him were now stealing glances at his teeth, looking for the fangs that weren't there.

Moments after he finished eating, Dumbledore stood at the head of the room, preparing to make his end of year speech.

"Another year has come and passed at Hogwarts," he said, voice ringing out across the room. "I know that many of you have learned by now that Voldemort is indeed back. Do not let this worry you. Hogwarts will be a safe haven for all, as it is protected by the strongest wards possible. I should know this, because I created them myself."

"This summer, action will be taken to make Hogwarts even safer. As you have most likely heard by now, vampires are currently inside the school –two of them in this very room."

Murmurs rose around the room, as people stared openly at Mr. Crepsley and me. "But," Dumbledore shouted, breaking through the din, "I would like you all to know that they are light creatures. They highly value human life, which was seen when Mr. Shan jumped between Harry and a lethal spell last week."

More whispers broke out. Not much was known about the happenings in Malfoy Manor, so this was new information. Dumbledore raised his hand in a request for silence.

"As I was saying," he continued, "they are light creatures. I have sent in a request to the Ministry, asking if they would permit us to hire a few of the vampires as guards. I'm sure many of you would prefer them over the dementors they stationed here a few years ago. I have already sent letters to your parents. Letters which include strict policies we will be enforcing next year as security measures. They also mention our possible new security guards, along with the fact that none of them will harm any students. Blood is being provided through an outside source, which is also mentioned in the letter."

Many of the students seemed nervous, yet excited by this news. A few seemed to oppose it outright, but most of the people who knew me knew there was nothing to fear.

"And with that, I bid you a farewell until next fall," Dumbledore said as departing words.

* * *

I returned to my common room, sans Mr. Crepsley, who was meeting with Dumbledore to discuss parting measures. I packed my bags and then went to my common room, possibly for the last time. The cheery air did nothing to brighten my saddened mood. I sat in one of the cushy arm chairs near the fire and looked up as Austin flew onto my head. I chuckled and pulled him out of my hair. The little bat chirred at me and snuggled into my hand. A thought suddenly occurred to me –how on earth could I bring him back to Vampire Mountain? They were sure to make broth out of him if they saw him.

Suddenly, Stebbins sat on an arm chair across from mine, looking nervous, yet determined.

"Hey, Darren," he said in greeting.

"Hello, Stebbins," I replied with a short wave. Then an idea occurred. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course," he replied. "What is it?"

"I need you to take care of Austin for me."

"But can't you take him with you?" he asked.

"I wish," I said.

"Oh," he perked up. "I guess so. I've always wanted a pet."

"He's all yours," I said, handing over the little bat.

His face lit up. I chuckled, thinking back to the fear he had when first meeting him. Our game of throwing fruit in the air for Austin to catch was interrupted by Professor Sprout crawling through the tunnel hole, followed by the two house prefects.

"Ah, there you are, Darren," the Herbology instructor said. "Your mentor said to fetch you because you are leaving soon.

My face fell again. All of the Hufflepuffs in the room crowded around me, giving me handshakes and hugs. I smiled. I've never felt more welcome in a place than I have in the Hufflepuff House. The sorting hat made the right choice when placing me in there. After saying my goodbyes, Professor Sprout charmed my trunk into following her, minus Austin's cage. We made our way to Dumbledore's office, where he, most of the staff, and the golden trio were all waiting.

Hermione was the first to move, pulling me into a spine-breaking hug. Then Ron and Harry shook my hands, Hagrid patted my back (nearly knocking me to the floor), and my teachers said their goodbyes.

"We hope to see you again, Sire Shan," Dumbledore smiled. Then he flicked his wand at Mr. Crepsley's bag and mine. They both disappeared, presumably to Vampire Mountain. Then he tapped an old stick on his desk and mumbled, "_Portus_." The stick glowed blue for a second, transforming into a Portkey.

"Now," Dumbledore said. "Both of you need to take hold of this stick at the count of three. One. Two. _Three_."

We grabbed the Portkey at the same time, spinning off to Vampire Mountain.

FIN

* * *

**Aww. It's actually finished. I hope y'all enjoyed this journey as much as I did. I made the story to where it's possible to make a sequel, and if I get enough requests, I might make one. **

**-Blood and Guts**

**Rebarbative **


End file.
